Magic Grid

Late last year, someone on newlib-l asked for ideas about how to familiarize oneself with the reference collection in a new job. I described the technique I learned in my Reference class. Last week, a newlib-l reader remembered the technique but not the details. Someone more clever than me pulled my post out of the archives. Since it has now helped newlib-l readers twice, I thought I would post it here. I've changed a few words to make it clear since my original post was in the midst of a continuing conversation on the discussion list.

In our Reference class we learned to use the "Magic Grid." (thank you, Anne Watts). Make a grid with boxes about an inch square (the top row and left column can be smaller). Make copies so that you can fill out several sheets.

Put the titles of the reference sources you are reviewing on the left and the criteria you want to look at across the top (things like scope, ease of use, authority, physical features like color so you remember where to find it, presence of indices and bibliographies, etc--anything you want, it doesn't really matter because it's just a tool to look at each source carefully but quickly). Then look at each source and fill in the corresponding grid point with a few words to describe it.

We did one type of resource at a time--dictionaries one week, encyclopedias the next, directories sometime later in the semester, etc. We were to spend a maximum of three hours on the process--but with this method, you can look at thirty dictionaries in three hours.

So, if I were starting a new job at a library, I'd work on filling out magic grids during any quiet moments at the reference desk. They would help me remember the sources and I could keep the sheets around for awhile as a quick reference.

This week, a couple of newlibbers sent us the Magic Grids that they made using the table feature of Microsoft Word. Both of them put the Call Number as one of the columns, something you would certainly want if you're working with your own collection.

One person planned to use the Magic Grid but to tackle her reference section by subject rather than by type of resources. I could see doing that, or a little of both--by type for the more general resources and by subject for the subject-specific ones.     #

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