Sociology Module Synthesis

I found the YouTube video on the introduction to sociology interesting, and I thought it provided an excellent introduction to the subject. I was particularly taken with its use of visual media. I admit that when I first started watching it I assumed that it was going to be a PowerPoint video, but instead it was a series of clips that went well with what the narrator was explaining. I thought that this helped hold the viewers’ interest better than mere words alone. This is the type of video resource that I would want to point users towards as a librarian. It balances information and entertainment quite well.

I liked the article that we read this week, although my issues with it are similar to those that I took with last week’s article. The author takes a set of respectable standards such as teaching students how to use the library and its resources, and unfortunately comes out with a mode of execution that fails to place library skills in the context of what the students are already doing. I think that good library work should be like a well-designed door handle: it is so well made that its use is natural and mostly unnoticed, and it does not hinder its user in accomplishing their task. I think library skills, and the help offered by reference librarians should be accomplished in a manner that does not distract or detract from the task the patron is trying to accomplish. Thus, even in teaching students how to use library resources that instruction must come within context, or students will not learn.

I was incredibly fond of the Library of Congress’s sociology resource page. It presents a good list of resources on a variety of sociology topics that would be useful for both the lay user and the serious researcher. The three that I looked at were all well designed and provided good information. The National Opinion Research Center was the site I thought would be most useful for those seeking to perform research in the field of sociology. It presented a long list of studies that have either been completed, or that are in process, and a brief summary of each. I admit that I was somewhat frustrated because I could not find the full version of any of the studies. Nevertheless, the descriptions alone could help a researcher narrow their topic, and also avoid overlapping work that others have already done. I will certainly add this site, and the Library of Congress’s sociology research list, to my arsenal as a reference librarian.

The ACRL ANSS site was not what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be predominately geared towards helping patrons find information in the social sciences, but it was more about providing social science librarians with both resources and information geared towards enabling them to be effective librarians. I poked through some of the meeting minutes, and it was interesting to see what ANSS is focused on and how they make decisions about moving forwards in the field. I also found it equally as interesting to read through the amount of standard meeting bureaucracy that exists even in an organization that is clearly designed to do nothing but help people access information. Although this is not a resource that I would recommend to patrons per se, it is certainly one that I will keep in mind for my own edification. I think that it provides an invaluable professional development resource for the social science reference librarian.

The Google Scholar search for sociology and library returned many results that would be useful to a patron in the field of sociology, and more than a few for a sociology subject librarian, but very few that struck me as germane to the actual topics of sociology and libraries. Many of the hits were returned because they contained the word “library” in their text. However, this word could be wholly unassociated with the actual subject of the article. “Library of Congress” was the most frequent culprit for causing an article that had nothing to do with libraries nevertheless show up in the results. Consequently, I think that Scholar is an excellent engine to cast a wide net, or to try and gain traction with a topic in which a librarian or researcher lacks understanding. However, to actually find good information, I would much prefer to utilize more targeted resources that are indexed by subject, and not just by word.

Finally, I explored the sociology sub-Reddit. I read several of the top articles and found the information in them to be good. One of the aspects about Reddit that I have commented on briefly before, but really struck me this week, is how it can be used as a forum. I think that Reddit has the potential to be a good resource for asking questions and gaining answers.  The user would need to be discerning in weighing the results, but that does not mean this site should be completely ignored. I will continue to keep Reddit in mind as a useful tool in my arsenal as a reference librarian. Who knows, one day I may be one of the people asking a question on Reddit because I cannot find the information a patron is searching for.