Melissa Misenhimer

Mesa College San Diego

Field Experience Log
7/6 - 11am - 2pm
Total Hours Completed = 3

Initial Meeting with Library Supervisor

Discussed projects to complete for the next 3-4 weeks such as a pre and post students survey
for instruction courses, create an online tutorial for a library database, and the possibility of
using the tutors to teach a lesson to about how to help students in the library
Tour of the Learning Resource Center - many different departments have moved into the
building recently and there is a lot of construction going on to find spaces for everyone
7/12 - 10am - 5pm
Total Hours Completed = 7

Reference Desk
Observed the librarian working at the reference desk and answering questions to students.
Most needed help with how to research an assignment or how to use library services such as
computers and printing
Overview of library services
There are many different services online or in person that students can use such as Video on
Demand or course reserves
Online Courses - embedded librarian
The librarian showed me the layout of her being embedded in a course, such as an English
course, and how she stays up to date with her students and offer helps in the course through
online tutorials and discussion posts
Prepping for Art History instruction
I watched how a librarian might prep for a library instruction course for an art history class and
how to use ArtStor which is one of the main art library databses
Question Point - Online Librarian
Observed the librarian work for Question Point which is a service for different libraries around
the world. Anyone on the library website can chat with a librarian in real time and librarians can
sign up to work for Question Point when they are free
My first day in the library gave me a good overview of what the librarians do each day in
a community college space. A lot of their time is spent on the reference desk and in their office
working on projects for the library. The librarian that I am working with is the Online Services
Librarian and the LIbrary Instruction teacher as well as the new department chair so she has a

lot on her plate! Being able to observe on the reference desk was really interesting because I
was able to see what students asked the librarians for help which was mainly about printing or
computer services. There were some that asked questions specifically about course reserves
or research questions. I was also able to observe the librarian complete Question Point which
was really interesting. She logins to their system and is able to take online chat questions from
library patrons all over the world. I thought this was a great tool for college and university
libraries to utilize because students are not always able to come into the library for help.
7/13 - 10am - 4pm
Total Hours Completed = 7

Art History Class Observation

During the class the librarian went over the library website, APA and MLA format, locating
books, ebooks, scholarly journals, periodicals, and how to use the ArtStor databse
Building the Questionnaire for students - pre and post
Discussion of how to create a questionnaire for students before and after a library instruction
course. We talked about what types of things they want to know about students beforehand,
such as what they typically use to research online, and what they want to know afterward, such
as if they feel more confident using library services or if there was anything they could learn
more about
Reference Desk
Observed the librarian working the reference desk and answering students questions
Scheduling & Adjunct Librarians
The librarian showed me how she schedules specific people for the reference desk each week
and how it works with Adjunct Librarians that they have working for them. She is also in charge
of scheduling library instruction courses for all semesters
Today I was able to observe a library instruction course for an art history class. It was
interesting to watch because it made me think that a lot of these students are coming here
directly out of high school and if there was a gap between what they learned in high school
about research and what they need to know for college. The information the librarian went over
was basic library database searching and how to find books or course reserves. It also
discussed advanced Google searching which was new to me! Overall, this course was
extremely important for students in all classes, not just an art history class. It was also
interesting to see today what the department chair's responsibilities are for the department. She
showed me how she creates the reference desk and instruction class schedule each week and
how she handles adjunct librarians. It was interesting to see how many people she has to
manage in her department and how it all works together.
7/20 - 10am - 4pm
Total Hours Worked = 6

Staffing for LRC

Discussion of how staffing works with the librarians - they are currently short 2 librarians and are
looking to hire more over the summer. They are also looking for a new Dean for their center and
explanation of the process and who they look for

Reference Desk
Observed the librarian at reference and answering student questions about research

Question Point - Online Librarian

Observed the librarian work for Question Point and answer questions online
I was able to discuss staffing and employment today in the library and how it works for a
college level. They are looking for librarians as well as a new Dean for their center. The
librarian explained that it is a long process to hire new people and there are specific processes
they have to go over during the interview process. Although they may be understaffed right now
and show to the administration they need to hire more people, they will get overturned
depending on who the administration wants to hire for at that time. It was interesting to hear
about all the moving parts in a college library and how it works. I was also able to observe at
reference and the online chat library services again today.
7/21 - 9am - 4pm
Total Hours Worked = 7

Electronic Reserves Librarian

Met with the Electronic Reserves Librarian about her role and job in the LRC. She is in charge
of negotiating contracts with all the data base services that they have for the library and makes
sure that each database is working properly
Administrative/Library Meeting
Observed a library meeting where they discussed the changes in the building, tutoring services,
computer labs and software, and other administrative tasks they need to complete before Fall
semester starts
Reference Desk
Observed the librarian working the reference desk and answering students questions
Tour of new buildings on campus
The campus received a large sum of money and has been building new buildings on campus.
We were able to go tour one of the new major buildings which will be the commons area,
cafeteria and bookstore
Meeting with the online services library today was great because I was able to ask
questions about how it works getting licenses with databases and how they keep them running.

She also explained that its a lot of work at a community college because they can have
hundreds of databases at a time that need to be managed so it is a lot of work. Being able to sit
in on an administrative meeting was very helpful today too because I had the chance to see how
each portion of the LRC works with each other and how all the parts work together. The tour of
the new spaces on campus was great because we were able to see where the new study
spaces would be on campus. One of the issues the librarians are having with the construction
at the LRC recently is that they are removing study spaces that students previously used to put
in new departments and services. The librarians are worried that there is not going to be
enough study space for students now but the college has discussed that there will be study
spaces throughout the college now for students to work at.
7/27 - 9am - 4pm
Total Hours Worked = 7

Difficult Patrons and how to handle them

Discussion with the supervisor of the LRC and how they handle difficult patrons or issues that
arise. There was a dog in the building and they looked up how to handle service dogs and what
questions they can ask and what they cant. Discussed how to deal with issues that arise
Reference desk
Observed the librarian at the reference desk and how they helped with student questions
Discussion about Comment Cards/Library Feedback
The librarians discussed how to create a comment card/feedback for library and possibly have it
online using taskstream rather than just having cards for people to write on
Lesson Discussion
Since we were unable to meet with the tutors, we discussed how I can create an advanced
lesson plan and present it to the librarians in the building. Discussed different databases that I
could use and what might be helpful for students to know
Being able to discuss difficult patrons or students and how to work with them was a great
thing to talk about with the LRC supervisor. Its hard to think what kinds of issues you will have
in a library until you see them firsthand and its good to see how others handle those situations.
I was also able to observe the librarian handle a difficult patron at the reference desk today who
was upset with her professor for assigning a specific topic and project during the summer. The
library handled it really well and was able to listen to the student and sympathize with her but
also not say negative things about the professor. The discussion of the lesson was important
today too because I had to change my lesson because I am unable to teach my lesson to tutors.
We were able to get the other librarians in the building to attend my lesson so that I could teach
it to them.
7/28 - 10am - 4pm
Total Hours Worked = 6

Reference Desk
Observed the librarian at reference and answering student questions about research
English Class Observation
During the class the librarian went over the library website, how to cite your sources using APA
and MLA format, why Wikipedia is not a good source for academic papers, how to locate books,
e books, academic journals, and periodicals and the students completed a worksheet
Tour of Printer Services
Printer Services is now in one of the new buildings on campus and we were able to tour their
department
I was able to observe another instruction course today which was important to see the
difference between the classes that might sign up. The English course today was very similar to
the Art History course except the librarian didnt go over ArtStor which they wont use. She
focused mostly on using the library databases, Wikipedia, and advanced Google searching. I
was also able to go see the new printer services which will be in the new commons building.
The library and other departments in the college all use the printer services so it was great to
see a brand new area for them and how they work with the rest of the college. They explained
that the new space will make it easier for them to complete their work and design for different
people. Overall, it was good to see different aspects of the college and how they interact and
collaborate together.
8/1 - 1:30pm - 3:30pm
Total Hours Worked = 2

Article and Reference Databases Lesson

Completed my lesson plan to the librarians on Article and Reference databases and how to use
boolean terms to broaden or narrow your search results
I completed my lesson today on Article and Reference Databases and how to use
boolean terms. Although I wished that I had a group of students to teach the lesson too, Im
happy that the librarians were able to come to the lesson and view my presentation. I wanted to
make sure that students understand the specific of the two important databases, EBSCO and
Gale, and knew how to use specific terms to make finding information about their topic easier.
The worksheet was for them to complete as homework so they were able to put what they
learned during the lesson to work and do it themselves. Overall, I think it went well and I was
able why its important to use the library databases.