Learning new libraries and library systems can be a daunting task, and I really appreciated the time we took to look at Hatcher Graduate Library. Pulling from the questions the class was asking, I feel that this was a mutual feeling. In my short time on campus, the only campus library I have been in is the one I work at, the Art, Architecture, and Engineering Library on North Campus, and because of my duties there, I have not truly gotten the chance to fully explore its wonders, though it is on my long list of things to do. The entire University of Michigan’s Library System, is complex and hard to understand at times, and this look into how one library is set up can open doors to make other libraries throughout campus more approachable. Even just the task of finding the Gallery was intimidating at first, as I did not come in the main entrance of Hatcher, but the moment I hit the stacks, it was like coming home. I have spent many days among the stacks in different libraries, and I hope to become just as comfortable with the stacks of Michigan’s campus libraries as well.
The reference guide activity following out tour, I feel, brought the lesson home. While it is important to understand how a library or library system is set up and run, it is even more important to be able to do your duty as an information professional. This exercise I feel encapsulated the importance of understanding the plethora of resource materials at the fingertips of most librarians, whether they be print or electronic materials. I think the most interesting part of this assignment was being able to compare materials that are accessible in both formats and how using these guides changes from one platform to another. The Chicago Manual, for example, I find to be much easier to browse through the print copy than the online interface, though I know those preferences most likely differ from person-to-person.
The introduction of these seemingly traditional reference resources also opens the door to more unorthodox materials that may be used, depending on the audience the information professional is trying to serve. While researchers often need access to references such as basic statistics or biographical information, children may require references to other resources that draw in their attention. While it is less likely to be adopted by the world of information professionals, an article Kristin sent me after a conversation we had following class kept bringing me back to the idea of reference resources, especially after our exploration of the Reference Reading Room and the types of sources I saw on the shelves. When Brian Ash and Yehudi Mercado were approached by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld about a Yom Kippur project to engage young Jewish children in learning about the importance of the holy days, a reference resource was created that engaged the religion’s literature in a fun way that kept children interested. Exploring more types of reference resources that have developed in these sorts of ways definitely holds some interest for me as well.
Raven K 
I really enjoyed our tour of the libraries too. The whole library system can definitely seem large, confusing, or intimidating at first, and it’s helpful to remember my own experience of encountering them for the first time when I’m helping new patrons. And I hope you’ll share any more interesting or nontraditional reference sources you come across!
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Hi kate647! ^^ Thanks for your reflection on our last class. I agree that the UM library system is complex and hard to understand. I’m glad we got to take this break as a class to really delve deeper into what resources the library (well at least one of them) holds and hope to explore other libraries more. Definitely yes to how the reference guide activity brought the lesson of how librarians are in the end information professionals who provide resources for people. I think I was having a hard time grasping that until we had our last class. Before that class, all of these resources just seemed like a headache to get through. But taking time to actually look at all of them was very eye-opening and made me less afraid!
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West Virginia Ravenclaw, your descriptive language of the joys of the libraries on campus enchants me! I love how you describe your desire to “explore the wonders” of the library where you are employed. Libraries, though seemingly just buildings full of paper and digital materials to some, truly do appear miraculous and wonderful when you contemplate the breadth of knowledge and information available within them. I especially love how you write of entering the North Stacks as “coming home.” This area of the library for some may seem the least welcoming, as it was not originally set up to be accessible to patrons. I in fact, found it a bit creepy due to the low lying ceilings and the difficulty of navigation. Hearing your view on it, however, as a reminder of past lovely experiences, showed me that there is more to the stacks than just it’s appearance at first glance. I do see how it could be a place of quiet refuge, where one could get lost not physically, but lost in the endless sources of information.
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