Re: asking questions

[Barbara Braxton <barbara@DYNAMITE.COM.AU>]

Hi everyone,
I would hate to think that people do not seek answers because they feel 
intimidated, but both Alice
and Dan raise valid points about letting others know what you know already.  I 
teach my kids that
that is the first stage in the Information Literacy process - work out what you 
know, and then from
there you can work out what you need to know!

The other plea I would make is to be as precise as possible -  unfortunately, like 
many others, I
just don't have time to answer questions that cover the whole spectrum like please 
send me useful
links or lesson plans with no anticipated outcomes to guide us to appropriate 
suggestions.  Much
better to start small, and then ask another question that builds on what you 
receive.

However, by the same token, we can also learn from what is being asked.  If it is 
the same question
over and over, perhaps this indicates that there is a gap somewhere that needs to 
be addressed
perhaps in a website, or a library school class, or an online professional 
development session.

I don't know if there is someone with the experience, expertise and time to analyse 
the archives and
see if there are any trends that need to be addressed more broadly than the list, 
but it might offer
a way forward for all.

Cheers
Barbara

Barbara Braxton
Teacher Librarian
Palmerston District Primary School
PALMERSTON ACT 2913
AUSTRALIA

T. 02 6205 6162
F. 02 6205 7242
E. barbara@dynamite.com.au
W. http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au
"Together, we learn from each other."
----- Original Message -----
From: Dan Robinson <dlrbnsn2@eclipse.net>
To: <LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
Sent: Monday, July 10, 2000 6:41 AM
Subject: Re: GEN attention new librarians


> Please, please, please.... no one's turning you away or refusing to
> answer questions, but think of the possibilities. If all we ever get
> are the exact same replies to the exact same questions, then we'll
> never expand. However, if you write that you checked the archives
> and either ask a followup question to something there *or* explain
> that you couldn't find anything for your question, then we'll know
> where to start.
>
> There is an amazing amount of knowledge here, but it's nice to
> carry that knowledge further. There where quite a few times last
> year that people stated a problem, said that they checked the
> archives and didn't find an answer that suited, OR, said that all that
> they found were questions. This gives a big hint for the regulars to
> start wracking their brains and come up with something different. It
> also lets the newer members know that their solution just may be
> the right one,,, and to post it. Or, it would start a discussion on the
> possible reasons why no one had ever posted an answer.
>
> A hint on searching the archives. Don't make your search too
> precise in the beginning. Make it broad and see what you get. Then
> start narrowing the search.
>
> We have librarians here who are very good at what they do. One of
> the things that they do well is teach good research skills to their
> students. For some reason, many of them feel that librarians
> should give some evidence of research when asking questions on
> the list.
>
> Finally, speaking from the other side (that of posting answers), it is
> disheartening to go to quite a bit of effort to research and post an
> answer only to get a response of  "thanks, but I already read that in
> the archives". If I would have known from the initial post that the
> archives had been searched, I would have assumed that my
> answer should build on what was already there.
>
> Dan Robinson
> Indexing Services
> H.W. Wilson Company
> Bronx, NY
> drobinson@hwwilson.com
> dlrbnsn2@eclipse.net
>
>
>
> On 9 Jul 00, at 13:15, Emily Smith wrote:
>
> > By no means am I a veteran....I only just finished my first year as an LMS
> > (previously a classroom teacher). That said, I do have years of classroom and
> > the year of being an LMS behind my belt.
> >
> > Neither the education degree, nor the library degree was preparation enough
> > for what one faces in the "real" world of teaching.  So I think it unfair to
> > turn people away from this listserv based on the concept of their questions
> > being ones that are asked already.
> >
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
> All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
> To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to:
> listserv@listserv.syr.edu   In the message write EITHER:
> 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
> 4) SET LM_NET MAIL  * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv.
> For LM_NET Help see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
> Archives: http://askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/LM_NET.html
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=
>
>

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to:
listserv@listserv.syr.edu   In the message write EITHER:
1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
4) SET LM_NET MAIL  * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv.
For LM_NET Help see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
Archives: http://askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/LM_NET.html
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=