Hello! Now that I’ve introduced myself, I’d like to talk about what I’ll be working on during my practicum that will help give me a better understanding of not only virtual reference issues and trends, but also reference service, support, and administration in general. First, I will staff the service and answer e-mail questions at various times, which will help me gain experience in providing reference services. Second, I will help support the statewide network of librarians that staff the KnowItNow24x7 service.

Greetings! My name is Ashlee Clark, and I am a current student in the Kent State University’s School of Library and Information Science. I am working on my culminating experience practicum this semester with KnowItNow24x7. The practicum gives students an opportunity to gain professional experience in a real-world library setting and to test and apply principles learned in graduate study to real-world experiences.

Excellent customer service need not take a holiday as shown by December’s transcripts.  It was difficult to whittle it down to just one, so two very different types of questions are featured.  The first is from a younger student searching for good books to read.  The second is a post-secondary student who has a very challenging question.  Both students had specific needs that the librarians had to consider and they were very conscientious about providing what each student needed.