ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries M arch 1 9 9 7 / 17 7 D aughters le a rn about the lib ra ry By M ary N. H e rn a n d e z a n d C h ristin e K ollen T ake O ur D au ghters to W ork D ay a t the University o f A r iz o n a O ne o f the values o f the University o f Ari­zona (UA) Library is diversity. W hen the UA Diversity Council sent out a request for as­ sistance with the universitywide initiative to support Take Our Daughters to Work Day, it was supported by the library dean’s cabinet and library employees. Take Our Daughters to Work Day (TODWD) was begun in 1993. It was sponsored by the Ms. Foundation for Women after disturbing find­ ings on the developm ent o f adolescent girls becam e available. Studies by Harvard University researchers, the American Association o f University W omen (AAUW), and the Minnesota W om en’s Fund in­ dicate that during adolescence girls often re­ ceive less attention than boys in school and in youth-serving programs, suffer from lower ex­ pectations than do their male counterparts, and tend to like or dislike themselves based on as­ pects o f their physical appearance. Held nationally on the fourth Thursday in April (and in 14 countries around the world), TODWD involves millions o f girls betw een the ages o f nine and 15 w ho go to work with adult mentors— parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and friends— to learn firsthand the exciting range o f life options open to them, while get­ ting the attention they deserve. Beginning in 1994, the UA Library joined with the UA Diversity Action Council in spon­ soring the national TODWD. The authors, mem­ bers o f the University Library Diversity Coun­ cil, agreed to coordinate the university library portion and, with the University Diversity Coun­ cil, planned a series o f campus activities which included introducing students (and some o f their parents) to the library. The university library has two electronic classrooms, one in the Main Library and one in the Science Library, each equipped with 14 com ­ puter stations. Each classroom has a seating capacity o f 42. At the time o f the library’s first involvement with TODWD, the electronic class­ room in the Main Library was PC-based and the one in the Science Library was Mac-based. Once logged into the different systems, there is no perceptible difference in accessing various da­ tabases. Now both classrooms are PC-based. The firs t y e a r : 1 9 9 4 Because SABIO, the library online catalog, was relatively new, the first year program included teaching students how to use it and how to access the Internet and the commercial journal databases to w hich the library system was linked. Two one-hour sessions were scheduled, one in the morning and one in the afternoon at each site. Time was scheduled for students to experiment. Members o f the Library Diversity Council staffed each session. This provided maximum opportunity for the students to choose what they wanted to do from among all the special activities offered on campus. The first session was more successful than imagined. Not only daughters, but parents came and were invited to sit at the back o f the class­ room. The second session, scheduled for mid­ afternoon, did not attract as many visitors but was still a full session. This time each daughter was able to work singly at a terminal. Mary N. H ernandez is assistant librarian a n d Christine Kollen is associate librarian at the University o f Arizona; e-mail: hemande@bird.library.arizona.edu; kollen@bird.library.arizona.edu mailto:hemande@bird.library.arizona.edu mailto:kollen@bird.library.arizona.edu 178 / C&RL News High Society. Ice Cream Socials. Gang W ars. Fighting W ords. H u m a n so c ie ty h a s c o u n tle ss m a n ife s ta tio n s an d m e a n in g s . We t r a c k th e m , a n d p ro v id e y o u with th o u s a n d s o f re fe re n c e s to e n h a n c e y o u r r e s e a r c h . S o c io lo g ic a l A b stra c ts ( S A ) , S o c ia l P l a n n in g / P o lic y & D e v e lo p m e n t A b stra c ts (S O P O D A ) a n d L in g u is t ic s a n d L a n g u a g e B e h a v io r A b stra c ts ( L L B A ) c o n ta in a sp e c tru m o f in f o rm a tio n d ire c tly r e la te d to y o u r a r e a s o f in te r e s t a n d e x p e r tis e . D ra w in g fro m m o re th a n 2 , 4 0 0 jo u r n a ls p u b lis h e d in 3 5 c o u n t rie s , we p re s e n t a b s tr a c ts o f a r t ic le s , b o o k s a n d c o n fe re n c e p a p e r s . O u r b ib lio g r a p h ic e n trie s w ill g u id e y o u to r e le v a n t d is s e rta tio n s a n d im p o rta n t b o o k a n d o th e r m e d ia re v ie w s . A ll a re e x p e r t ly in d e x e d a n d c la s s if ie d f o r e a s y a c ce s s. SA , SO P O D A a n d LL B A a re a v a ila b le in a v a r ie t y o f m e d ia : p r in t, o n lin e , C D -R O M , a n d m a g n e tic ta p e . L e t us h e lp y o u d is c o v e r th e so c ia l w o rld s a n d p a tte rn s o f c o m m u n ic a tio n b y w h ich we liv e . S A I ’ s W eb s ite , lo c a te d a t w w w .s o c a b s .o rg , c o n ta in s s e a r c h a b le su b s e ts o f th e SA, S O P O D A , a n d LL B A d a ta b a s e s , h o t to p ic s , th e N ote Us n e w s le tte r, a n d lin k s to o th e r r e le v a n t s ite s a n d re s o u rc e s. F o r m o re in f o r m a tio n on o u r p ro d u cts a n d s e r v ic e s , v is it o u r W eb s ite , o r c o n ta ct us at: socio lo gical ab stracts, inc. P .O . B o x 2 2 2 0 6 , Sa n D ie g o , CA 9 2 1 9 2 - 0 2 0 6 6 1 9 . 6 9 5 . 8 8 0 3 F a x 6 1 9 . 6 9 5 . 0 4 1 6 In te rn e t: s o c io @ c e r f n e t.c o m W eb site h ttp :/ / w w w .s o c a b s .o r g SAI products are available in print; online from Kniaht-Ridder, DIMDI, OCLC and O vid ; on CD-RO M from SilverPlatter, EBSCO, O vid and NISC; and on magnetic tape directly from SAI. For document delivery contact SOCIOLOGY*Expre ss at 6 1 9 .6 9 5 .8 8 0 3 o r Fax 3 1 0 .2 0 8 .2 9 8 2 . The second y e a r: 1 9 9 5 In 1995, because the library offered more elec­ tronic resources, the TODWD library sessions were scheduled for 90 minutes. The library had access to a CD-ROM Local Area Network (LAN) and more commercial journal databases in the electronic classrooms. Less time was spent on SABIO instruction and more on CD-ROM data­ bases and the Internet. Again, time was included for the participants to experiment. This time a call went out to all staff explain­ ing the purpose of the library’s involvement and asking for volunteers to help staff the ses­ sions. Several staff members were enthusiastic and agreed to assist in both electronic class­ rooms. Again, an impressive number of daugh­ ters and parents took advantage of the oppor­ tunity to learn more about the library and what was available electronically. Feedback indicated the daughters enjoyed the session but wanted more hands-on time. The third y e a r: 1 9 9 6 In 1996, with the impact o f the World Wide Web, and since so many of the students had become familiar with the electronic library, it was decided to use the TODWD to identify educational, financial, and fun sites on the Web for the daughters to explore. The presentation offered students new options on the uses of the Internet. Not only was the UA homepage available, but also those of colleges and uni­ versities throughout the country. These sites in­ cluded liberal arts colleges, research level one universities, and discipline-focused institutions. Sites that had financial information were in­ cluded because some of the students were near­ ing time for college application. It is indicative of the times that these sites were used and ex­ amined the longest. The 1996 TODWD library handout was a listing of the Web sites which were targeted as potentially helpful to the students. One thing is certain, the Information Super­ highway has many passengers, and each year the library will have to find new ways to stay ahead of what students know, while trying to anticipate what students will need. Future direction What is on the agenda for this year? Four ses­ sions are planned: two on how to navigate the Internet, including how to find materials in the library, and two on how to create and maintain a homepage. ■ http://www.socabs.org mailto:socio@cerfnet.com http://www.socabs.org