Randi-Marie Gonsalves

Research is one of the greatest tools available to librarians and those who use the library. I learned many valuable research techniques in my LIS 600 class, and was able to apply them in a paper I wrote about my interview with an establishment I was not familiar with: The Quaker House. Research can be done in a variety of ways, but perhaps one of the best methods is that of interview. This is because an interview provides the interviewer with a verbal account of the subject being interviewed. For instance, when I spoke directly to on of the directors of the Quaker House, I was able to not just learn what the Quaker House was, but heard the feelings expressed when the questions were answered. It is a direct account of information mixed with human emotion. 

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For my LIS 600 class, I had to research something and then write about it. There was so much out there that I wanted to research but a lot of it were things I was already familiar with. To truly take advantage of this assignment, I chose to do my research on something I was not at all familiar with. I chose to research The Quaker House and its significance in a military community such as the one I live in (Fort Bragg). 

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By definition, Quakers are people who practice peace and are usually against military involvement of any kind. This is what I wanted to learn: what was a Quaker organization doing to assist soldiers and their families? I employed an interview of the assistant director of The Quaker House as well as utilized research in my local public library. 

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This was an eye-opening experience and what I found out was The Quaker House's active use of public domains such as the library and schools in the area, as well as the military base of Fort Bragg. The Quaker House took advantage of the local public library in the materials and classes they offered as well as the ability to reserve meeting rooms so they could conduct information sessions for the military families and their families as well as the general public. The Quaker House and the public library's teaming made it possible for them to reach out to a community that might not otherwise be so easily reached.

 

For my second artifact, I chose a Needs Assessment group project I completed for my LIS 650 class. This involved a great deal of research and research methods. You can access my Needs Assessment paper by clicking on the icon above to the right. 

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This needs assessment used several different methods to collect data about the CES library, which included an interview with the head librarian, interviews with three different CES teachers, and an anonymous online survey for teachers done through Qualtrics. The student data, which was obtained through Google Doc surveys, gathered by the librarian was provided by the librarian we researchers to better understand student library use and assess current student happiness and overall satisfaction of the library.

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