Are there any helicopters looming over your area of expertise?

     As a parent of one child who raised a son alone for several years, I often wondered if I’ve done too much or not enough for my son in preparation for his future. At work, I witness parents who loom over their young adult children as if they too are experiencing a lack of trust or insecurity over their parenting skills. We are constantly receiving calls from parents who will not allow their child to become a self-sufficient young adult.

     They hover from the prospective admissions stage to graduation and the job market beyond—contacting presidents of universities, deans, and professors, disputing their child’s grade; requesting an extension for their child; complaining their child does not receive as much praise as the parent would like; completing assignments for their child; requesting notification of grades their child received; and even attending job fairs and interviews with their child (Vinson, 2006, p. 423)

     Whether checking on an overdue fine or performing research on their behalf, it is not the parent’s place to interfere with the process of growing up. We must trust in our youth, as well as our parenting skills, by allowing our children to make mistakes or good decisions towards their future. If we do not allow them to learn on their own, we may find ourselves holding their hands throughout adulthood. I refuse to financially support my son for the rest of my life! I fear that will be the result, if I do not allow him to experience life as an independent young adult. “While the link between parenting effort and wellbeing of children has been firmly established, contemporary discussion has proposed that extreme levels of parental protection of and responsiveness to children could be counterproductive” (Locke et al., 2012, 249). Remember that there are laws to protect the student and we must adhere to them. When all else fails, one can always lean on FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) to “protect the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. These rights are granted to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level (FERPA, 2006).

References

United States Department of Education. (2006). Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). ED.gov. Retrieved from ED.gov on July 24, 2013 at

http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

Locke, J. Y., Campbell, M. A., & Kavanaugh, D. (2012). Can a Parent Do Too Much for Their Child? An Examination By Parenting Professionals of the Concept of Overparenting. Australian Journal of Guidance & Counseling, 22(2), 249-265.

Vinson, K. (2013). Hovering Too Close: the Ramifications of Helicopter Parenting in Higher Education. Georgia State University Law Review, 29(2), 423-451.

Getting the Message Out

     At Tri-County Technical College, we are working to promote the library and increase its presence campus-wide.  To effectively do this, we standardized all of our PR materials, utilized a set of specific colors to identify the library as a unique entity within the college campus, and tapped into an array of opportunities for getting the word out about the library and its services.

  A year ago, we met with our PR department.  The goal of this meeting was to begin the process of standardizing all of our materials that promote the library.  As we worked with the department, we selected some images that reflected the library, learning, and research in a fun and entertaining way.  The key image we used for the 2012-2013 school year is displayed below:

     We selected the color green to represent the library and bring attention to our facilities.  We now use this color in all of our publications, and we are experiencing much success with this approach.  Design, and quality of design, is imperative.  As brochures, posters, information literacy handouts, and power point presentations on research techniques are produced that represent the library, we are requiring the usage of these adopted colors, images, and templates.  The end result is quite appealing, aesthetically.

     We are pleased with the outcome of this approach to promoting, and ultimately selling, library services to students.  Additionally, we are pleased with the manner in which the library staff members embraced these colors and templates, by working to integrate them into the individual items they are producing to promote the library and/or information literacy skills.

Jargon

Anyone who has entered the Ruby Hicks building in the last 2 months realizes the library is undergoing a major renovation.  With a renovation comes the byproduct of looking at workflow and signage.  One of the updates to workflow that we decided on was to incorporate the circulation desk and the reference desk into one area instead of two.  This decision was based on a few factors which included noticing that patrons seemed to come to the Circulation desk instead of the Reference desk for help much of the time even though the Reference desk was staffed.

Since we are creating one service point instead of two, a discussion started on the various signs we have in the library.  I have included pictures of some of those signs in this blog post.  Similar to a number of other professions, libraries use “jargon” when we talk to each other.

 

According to our Credo Reference database “Jargon is the technical language used within a particular subject or profession, such as science, computing, medicine, law, accountancy, etc.: • CVA or cerebral vascular accident is medical jargon for a stroke. The term is also used to denote the complex, obscure, pretentious or euphemistic language used by estate agents, journalists, sociologists, advertisers, bureaucrats, politicians, etc. Jargon of both types is acceptable, and often indispensable, in professional journals and in written or spoken communications between members of the same group. It should be avoided, however, in articles, brochures, insurance policies, etc. that are to be read and understood by lay people, and in conversations with members of the general public. Jargon should not be used to impress, intimidate, confuse, or mislead the outsider. <http://www.credoreference.com/entry/acbgwg/jargon>.

We bounced around a few ideas for the new circulation area.  Some of these are “service desk”, “help desk”, “information”, and “ask us”.  None of those signs quite conveyed what we are looking for.  Our decision is that Sue Andrus is going to ask student during Information Literacy Workshops what they call “that place”.  Do you have any suggestions?  If so, email me at mrobers1@tctc.edu