Librarianship: Cooperative Ventures and Referrals

Optional Print Course Material: Librarianship: Cooperative Ventures and Referrals

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

This course provides an overview of a number of cooperative ventures that a library with a commitment to genealogy patrons and organizations can initiate or in which it can participate. In addition, examples of referrals and recommendations that a genealogical librarian may be able to make to his or her patron are described in detail. 

Each of the examples of cooperative programs can be accomplished through open communications between the library and the potential partner(s) and through creative yet practical planning and execution. However, you may be surprised at some of the real-life scenarios presented and the way that their successes have been achieved.  

Reference referrals are an essential part of every library's or archive's operations. You will need to become familiar with your local service area and learn about other complementary collections, government documents repositories, and other resources in that vicinity. Your library will provide a focal point for connecting with many types of print, electronic, and document source materials. However, since no library has an unlimited collection development or electronic resource/database licensing budget, it is imperative that the genealogical library personnel are familiar with other places to successfully refer genealogical patrons.  

The Genealogical Librarianship Certificate Program is intended to provide overlapping and complementary content between courses. One of your primary goals is to assimilate the information presented in each course and integrate it into a "big picture" that will help you provide the best possible service to your genealogical patrons. Therefore, you will find that this course complements material presented in others in the Genealogical Librarianship Certificate curriculum, including Developing, Organizing, and Supporting a Core Collection, Helping Users with Specialized Genealogical Sources, Finding Aids, Brochures, Online and Multimedia Instructional Tools, and this Cooperative Ventures and Referrals course. 

At the conclusion of this course, you should have a strong perspective of methods of collaborating and cooperating with other organizations and institutions in order to further the services you can provide the genealogical patron and community. Likewise, you will become conversant with the wide array of referral opportunities that can extend your genealogical patron's research reach. 

Course Length: 7 weeks