Excellent Archival Reference Workshop

Instructor: Robin M Katz

Robin M. Katz is an archivist and librarian with expertise in outreach, instruction, and public services. Her accomplishments include co-creating TeachArchives.org , co-authoring the Primary Source Literacy Guidelines, and writing and producing the instructional video “What are Archives?” Her forthcoming book 410 Measurable Learning Outcomes for Primary Source Literacy will be published by the Society of American Archivist in 2025. She was the co-chair of RBMS 2021, the national conference for American special collections librarians and archivists, on the theme of “Power, Resistance, and Leadership” and she regularly teaches professional development opportunities, including as an instructor of “Introduction to Public Services in Special Collections” for Library Juice Academy.

Description

Archives that achieve excellent support to diverse audiences with various needs do so by:

• Providing accessible public services
• Conducting successful reference interactions
• Incorporating user feedback and addressing user needs

This workshop aims to build public services confidence in archivists, whether they are reference veterans or are new to assisting researchers. Participants will have the opportunity to practice foundational skills, to assess real archives programs, to consider new strategies, and to plan for change in their current role/repository.

Learning Objectives

Successful participants will be able to:

• Explain at least 2 pros and cons of various staffing models for public services in archives
• Apply an evaluation rubric to assessing the accessibility and quality of an archives’ public services program
• Given a scenario, demonstrate the 5 components of a successful reference interaction
• Determine the most feasible or appropriate methods of conducting a needs assessment and/or gathering feedback from an archive’s users
• Set at least 2 SMART goals for training and professional development goals specific to their repository/role