[Web4lib] Friendly language

[Cindy Harper]

Maybe it's got to do with the fact that, at our Circ/reserves desk, at
least, you can't make a "reservation" for what you want to read.  But they
are reserved from regular circulation.

Cindy Harper, Systems Librarian
Colgate University Libraries
charper at colgate.edu
315-228-7363



On Mon, Feb 1, 2010 at 9:24 AM, Lise Brin <brinmobile at gmail.com> wrote:

> Just to highlight how students' interpretations of library terms are often
> at odds with what we intended, I am regularly shocked by how many students
> get confused between the "Reserves Desk" and the "Reference Desk."
>
> My guess is neither term is intuitive to them, so they don't distinguish
> between the two.
>
>
> Lise Brin
> Emerging Services Librarian
> St. Francis Xavier University
> Antigonish, Nova Scotia
> lbrin at stfx.ca
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 3:11 PM, Richard Wiggins
> <richard.wiggins at gmail.com>wrote:
>
> > "Stuff Your Prof Is Making You Read"?   :-)  /rich
> >
> > On Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 6:32 AM, Marc Davis <marc.davis at drake.edu>
> wrote:
> >
> > > Probably one place to start is with actual student language.
> > >
> > > For example: "course."  I don't hear students talk about "skipping
> > course"
> > > but they do say "skipping class" . . . frequently.  On midwestern
> > campuses,
> > > anyway, "class" is a much more common term that "courses."
> > >
> > > When looking for reserves they come to the desk telling us "I need the
> > > readings for my biology class." Other frequently used terms include
> > > "articles, books, assignments"  or some combination like "assigned
> > reading."
> > >  I don't recall ever being asked for "materials."
> > >
> > > So, I'd keep track for a while at the Reserves desk of what students
> are
> > > actually saying.  At one library we ended up with "Assigned Class
> > Readings."
> > >
> > > FWIW.
> > >
> > > Marc Davis
> > > Systems Associate
> > > Cowles Library, Drake University
> > > 2507 University Avenue
> > > Des Moines, IA 50311  USA
> > > 515-271-1934
> > >
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Coral Sheldon-Hess" <coral.hess at gmail.com>
> > > To: "web4lib" <web4lib at webjunction.org>
> > > Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 8:48:57 PM
> > > Subject: [Web4lib] Friendly language
> > >
> > > Hello!
> > >
> > > My library (or, well, our Web Team) has started talking about using
> > > "friendlier" terms on our website. Most immediately, we'd like to find
> > > a more intuitive name for "Course Reserves." None of our students seem
> > > to know what that term means, so, of course, it gets very little use.
> > > I know a number of libraries have looked into de-jargonizing (how's
> > > that for a word) their websites, lately, though I don't know whether
> > > they've had good results or not. I'd love to hear from any librarians
> > > working on that kind of project!
> > >
> > > To the crowd at large, though, do you have any thoughts on what else
> > > to call "Course Reserves"? The best we've got, now, is "Course
> > > Materials." Do you have--or have you seen--any really good examples of
> > > "friendly" academic library website language?
> > >
> > > Thanks in advance!
> > >
> > > --
> > > Coral Sheldon-Hess
> > > Web Services Librarian
> > > UAA/APU Consortium Library
> > >
> > > "... the library is not a place but a service." --Allen B. Veaner
> > >
> > >
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