Always Glad to Help Out Library Science Students

Back in the Fall of 1992, my first semester at NJIT, I taught Science and Technology Reference at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science.  I did this at their Manhattan extension which at that time was at the New School.  It has since moved to the Bobst Library at NYU.  I gave the students an assignment to visit a science library and to interview the science librarian.  They then reported back to the class.

A few days ago I received this e-mail from Sabrina at North Carolina Central University.

Mr. Slutsky,


I am a graduate student in the School of Library and Information Science at North Carolina Central University. I am currently enrolled in a course that deals with science and technology resources for librarians. My professor, Dr. Susan Aber, has given a class assignment to interview a librarian responsible for science, engineering, or technology resources. The purpose of the interview is to give students an idea of some of the daily responsibilities of a Sci-tech librarian.


I searched the internet for science and technology librarians and found your science, technology, and medical librarians special interest group. I understand that you must be very busy. I am hopeful, however, that you will agree to a short (approximately 10 minutes) interview.

For your information, I am listing the interview questions below.



1. What duties are expected of you as a Sci-tech librarian?

2. What types of resources do you need to accomplish the job successfully?

3. Can you provide an example of a recent reference question that you were asked by a library patron?

4. Do you give instruction sessions or create subject guides for finding Sci-tech sources? If so, are they for patrons or for your own use?

If you are willing to be interviewed, I would be happy to phone you at your convenience. If you prefer, you can also provide an email response to the four questions above.


I appreciate your time and hope that you are willing to be interviewed for my class assignment
 
I was very happy to speak with this student.  I mentioned that the cost of science/engineering resources was so much higher than those for the humanities and social sciences.  Wherever possible we try to use free internet resources like ChemSpider and the NIST Webbook.