The new Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee is pleased to report on three well-attended and highly successful discussion that took place at the 2011 Midwinter Conference in San Diego:
When We Create a Learning Commons, How Does it Change Reference Questions?
With more than eighty-five people in attendance, we are guessing that most people walked away with their question “When we create a Learning Commons, how does it change reference questions?” answered. The Discussion Forum led by Judy Solberg of Seattle University was held on Monday morning and the conversation was stimulating in that it allowed for different methods, measures, and suggestions for what works and what doesn’t work when creating a learning commons.
LibAnswers: Spreading the Wealth and Collaborative FAQ Building
With more than twenty people in attendance, we had a lively discussion on LibAnswers at ALA Midwinter in San Diego. LibAnswers is an online reference model that can be used to enhance traditional modes of reference.
Answering the Young Adult Reference Question
On Sunday, January 9 from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, the Reference Services Section of RUSA and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) partnered to provide the Discussion Forum, Answering the Young Adult Reference Question. A review of the major discussion points, as well as other documents relating to this forum, may be found in the RSS Board area of ALA Connect. Documents prepared for the forum, as well as a review of the major discussion points that were addressed during the Report Out at the end, are available at: http://connect.ala.org/node/129814
This discussion fostered interest in creating a joint committee between YALSA and RSS to coordinate more discussions of this type and to address issues relating to reference and Information services to young adults. This idea is currently being explored.