Sept. 13 registration deadline for several online courses offered by Reference and User Services Association

CHICAGO —Registration ends on Thursday, Sept. 13 for several online courses offered by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA): Health Information 101, Reference Interview, Introduction to Spatial Literacy and Online Mapping and the division’s brand new course, Interlibrary Loan 101.

Librarians new to these various areas of work, library school students or support staff looking to expand their resumes or experienced librarians looking to brush up on their skills will find these courses to be affordable, convenient and valuable learning experiences. Content for RUSA’s online courses is mostly self-paced. Several classes have lectures or chat sessions that require live student participation; live meeting times are noted with the class information. Health Information 101 even offers one continuing education credit; more information about these courses is available at the RUSA Online Learning page.

Course registration rates start at $130 for RUSA members; individuals can register online for these courses up until close of business on Thursday, Sept. 13. Two or more participants from the same library, library system or network can take advantage of group registration rates; forms for group registration are available at the RUSA Online Learning page. Questions about registration can be directed to the ALA registration team at registration@ala.org.



Reference Interview

Sept. 17 - Oct. 27, 2012

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A comprehensive course focusing on the methods of evaluating reference service, behavioral aspects of reference service and the different types of questions that can be used to help patrons identify what they need. Other topics include approachability, questioning and listening techniques and the reference interview environment. Chat sessions will model interviewing techniques using sample dialogues. Who should attend: support staff, library technicians, newly hired reference librarians and those librarians who want to brush up on their interview skills; topics are of interest to all types of libraries.



Interlibrary Loan 101

Sept. 17 - Oct. 14, 2012

Live Sessions on Monday and Wednesday, 1 - 2 p.m. Central Time

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Topics covered: ILL process, policies and procedures from both the borrowing and lending perspectives, copyright law and licensing impacts on ILL and ILL resources and systems. Participants will learn standard practices, gain an overview of emerging trends and practice writing policies for interlibrary borrowing and lending. Who should attend: New ILL managers and practitioners in all types of libraries, especially academic and public libraries.



Introduction to Spatial Literacy and Online Mapping

Sept. 17 - Oct. 7, 2012

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Already completed this course? Consider enrolling in “Spatial Literacy II: Incorporation of Maps and GIS”.

In light of the widespread use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology such as Google Earth or Google Map Mashups to communicate information in a map format, it is time to train librarians to not only assist library clients with their inquiries, but to use the technology themselves in their reference work and liaison responsibilities. This three week course will introduce you to a variety of mapping tools and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies that are of interest to both public and academic library users.



Health Information 101

Sept. 17 - Oct. 28, 2012

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Those who complete the required coursework will receive one continuing education unit. Registration rates for this course are $20 higher than other courses in order to offer these CEUs.

Topics covered include medical terminology, evidence-based biomedical literature searching, health literacy and health outcomes, how to evaluate health and medical websites, consumer health resources and the business of healthcare. Who should attend: public librarians; primary, secondary and academic librarians.



The Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers’ advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need. Learn more about the association at www.ala.org/rusa.