My understanding and application of the BOK's (Bodies of Knowledge) for librarians

I wrote this as part of my application for my professional registration in 2018.

Understanding and applying BOK's (Bodies of Knowledge) for my professional registration application from 2018



BOK 1

With the growth of the Internet, an increasing number of resources such as journal articles have become available online.  This raises issues for libraries and their users around copyright.   

• In response to queries from lecturers at New Zealand Tertiary College (NZTC) about using copyright material, I consulted copyright experts in the library field.  In some instances, I asked publishers whether the college could use their journal articles in course readings.

• Read Tony Millett’s guide and read the conditions of the college’s CLNZ license and discussed it with the General Manager. 

• Drew up copyright guidelines for NZTC staff and circulated them.  Made a copyright Q and A with questions staff have asked and uploaded it to SharePoint. 

BOK 2

As eBooks become more widely available in recent years, there has been a trend among academic libraries towards purchasing new titles in eBook format instead of print.  This saves precious space on library shelves and allows remote access to the resources.  One of the challenges with eBooks is that the library’s users are often not aware the library has them nor do they know how eBooks work.

• Discussed ways to promote NZTC’s eBook collection with the EBSCO rep.

• Added a link with an embedded login to the EBSCO eBook Collection on the college’s Learning Management System (LMS).

• Promoted EBSCO eBooks at orientations and library tutorials, showing students how to access them and explained the DRM restrictions.
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BOK 3

Libraries need to meet the needs of their users in many different areas, including the physical design of the library, the online environment and the library’s lending policies.

• Bought new shelving for the children’s picture books and moved this collection to the front of the library to make them much more visible and to make browsing easier.  This in turn has increased circulation.

• Added several more copies of high demand textbooks to the general loan collection to cope with demand.

• Assisted with changing the Christchurch campus library from reference only to a lending library in response to feedback from students.

• Created a list of all NZTC theses in Liberty cataloguing and made a link to it on the Liberty homepage so that they can be found easily by students.

• As not all students use Liberty Library to access resources, added more links to library databases and e-journals on the college’s Learning Management System (LMS) homepage.

BOK 4

Many students begin their tertiary study with low levels of information literacy and require a lot of support from the library and teaching staff.

• Created library guides to the online resources and revised existing ones

• Provided library orientations for international students.

• Regularly gave library tutorials on using the Liberty Library catalogue and searching EBSCO for articles and eBooks.

• Showed students how to cite articles and eBooks in EBSCO using APA 6th.

• Advised the NZTC videography team with creating a new video guide for using Liberty Library.

BOK 5

Information needs to be easily discoverable and it is the job of librarians to use the most effective methods to achieve this.

• Added the link to the EBSCO eBook version (where applicable) to print book records on the Liberty OPAC.

• Researched options for creating DOI’s for every article published in He Kupu, the college’s own academic journal.

• Showed students how to use the temporary folder in EBSCO to store citations.

• In response to a request from an ex Master’s student, uploaded all NZTC theses (with appropriate metadata) to the shared repository at DigitalNZ, making them freely accessible to anyone.

• After correcting numerous cataloguing errors, established a best practice for cataloguing new resources and created a guide for this on SharePoint.

BOK 6

Librarians need to keep up-to-date with various forms of technology

• As the college was getting new security gates I familiarised myself with how RFID technology works.

• Used coding to add an EBSCO search box to the library homepage.

• At AUT I became familiar with using EndNote referencing software and gave classes for beginners on using this software.

• Experimented with different brands of email marketing software to produce library newsletters.

• Investigated using heat maps to look at how patrons use the library homepage.

BOK 8

Libraries need to meet the information needs of their users and make new acquisitions accordingly.  At the same time they have a limited amount of shelf space and so weeding needs to be done regularly.

My understanding of knowledge management is that it is a process of capturing and then using and sharing that information using a variety of tools such as document management systems and social networking services.

• Weeded ephemera (brochures, etc.), journal duplicates and old magazines to create more shelf space. 

• Organised database trials for the college and got approval for a subscription to Informit A+ Education.

• Kept up-to-date with the latest releases from publishers and suggested new book purchases to academic staff.

• Developed the library’s EBSCO eBook collection which has gone from a handful of titles to over 100.

• At AUT I added content to a team wiki, a list of publishers to avoid purchasing from, and contributed to my team’s Yammer page.

• Updated documents on library processes and procedures in SharePoint.

• Revised the library section in the student handbooks to reflect changes to services.

• Read an article about knowledge management in libraries, Knowledge Management for Libraries by Elizabeth Nelson.

BOK 9

In my experience, managing a small library requires (among other things) ensuring equipment is working and appropriate for the needs of the library, training and supporting  library support staff, keeping documentation about policies and procedures up-to-date, making sure the library is well resourced and being an advocate for the library.

• Proposed and then oversaw a project to re-tag the physical collection with RFID tags and install new RFID security gates.

• Changed the loans policy and made other preparations for the college library in Christchurch to become a lending library.

• Submitted a proposal for subscribing to a new academic database and then arranged for its acquisition.

• Lead a project for improving the shelving in the library, to raise the shelf heights and install sloping shelves for the children’s books.

• Produced a library training checklist and trained new support staff.

• Attended meetings with NZQA reps during the college’s EER review to champion how the library supports staff and students.

BOK 10

Libraries in general need to change or improve their services in response to feedback from patrons and the changing needs of the community.  Academic libraries need to ensure they keep up-to-date with changes in the way courses are taught and make changes to their services accordingly.

• Looked at the comments from the student survey that is held every 2 years and as a result, offered new services such as extended hours and sending out library welcome emails for newly enrolled students.

• Because the college no longer uses prescribed textbooks (and in response to the needs of students), I changed nearly all books catalogued as Reference Only to General Loan to allow circulation.

BOK 11

Libraries have a role to play in promoting Te Reo Māori in the wider community.

Developed the library’s collection of Māori /English children’s picture books which students can use when they are on field practice in early childhood centres.

Re-read Alastair Smith’s article: New Zealand Information on the Internet: The Power to Find the Knowledge.

Learned how to add macrons for Māori words in Word and showed this to a student.