Member A-LIRT: Laura Bottoms

Seasoned LIRT members are likely to be familiar with our featured colleague, Laura Bottoms. Laura has been an ALA member since 1974, joining LIRT in 1980. Laura is the Assistant Director of the Thunderbird Library at Rogers State College in Claremore, Oklahoma. "Reference and library instruction form a large part of my job, along with some interlibrary loan, cataloging, circulation and help with audiovisuals."

Rogers State College serves 3,000 students, many on campus and some through televised or online courses, in both general academic and career-oriented programs. The average age of the RSC student body is 34. Library instruction is often customized to meet the different class needs. Structured sessions beyond the introductory overview are focused on particular assignments or other requirements. Discussions with instructors and faculty define needs, and some instructors prefer to conduct their class library visits on their own. Students who want additional help can make an appointment for an individual "research tutorial" with a librarian, to learn to employ effective search strategies.

Laura's perception of library instruction is best described in her own words. "In a way, all our user assistance is library instruction. We provide practical information, including demonstrations of library techniques, along with encouragement to persist in the hard work of thoughtful searching. Students may initially find too little or too much material, but our access systems help us locate efficiently what we need. Helping patrons find solutions to information access problems boosts everyone's awareness of the wealth of ideas and facts which surround us."

Laura has participated in numerous professional organizations including ACRL. She's been active in several state and local library groups including the Pennsylvania Library Association, the Massachusetts Library Association, the New England Library Association, and the New England Chapter of the Music Library Association. Presently, she is involved in the Oklahoma Library Association and the Tulsa Area Library Cooperative. Her philosophy on professional activities is refreshing: "The stimulus of professional associations holds both the intellectual/practical value of informing us about new developments in our ever-changing field, and the encouragement of periodically meeting with so many others who share the zeal--who think it's fun to support individual lifelong learning through good materials and vast information systems."