Reference services

1. REFERENCE SERVICE IN THE
DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT
Augustine Gitonga

2. Definition: Reference Service
 Personal assistance provided by trained personnel
to library users seeking information
 Components:
 finding the required information on behalf of users, or
assisting users find information
 instruction in the use of library resources and services
(information literacy skills);
 user guidance, guiding users in selecting the most
appropriate information sources and services
 Digital reference occurs when a question is
received electronically and responded to
electronically

3. Traditional Reference
 Print environment
 Direct ready reference – verification of basic
facts
 Single source
 Contextual aspects of a person, place,
event, period
 range of different reference resources e.g.
dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases,
bibliographies,

4. Challenges
 Reference lib open (staffed) btn 9 a.m. –
5 p.m.
 Users need to use btn 9 p.m. – 5 a.m.
 Not open, not staffed, not able to visit
then

5. Opportunities
 Training – empowerment of Librarians
 Able to train users in library and information use
skills
 Information literacy training skills
 Ability to employ digital technology
 Uploading information
 Creating the environment, e.g. creating the websites or
search and retrieval tools
 Availability and access to hardware
 Servers, networks and end-user computer/digital
tools, e.g. mobile phones, laptops, ipads
 Training of users – empowerment of users to
be independent information users
 Information literacy skills

6. Role of Ref Librarian
 Traditional ref librarian - collector and preserver
of information resources
 assisted in the collection development and
acquisition, cataloguing and classification,
circulation, provision of reference services, and
preservation, conservation and archiving
 New roles: teaching, consultancy and
researching besides providing access to
information
 guide users in information gathering, information
skills and tools, organizing information resources,
search strategies, basic reference resources

7. Requirements of Digital Ref Work
 Challenges in the new role: building the
resources, sustaining the resources, and
library staff training
 needs for a new breed of information
professionals who must be well equipped
with IT knowledge and skills
 New names for reference librarians: digital
librarian, digital information professional,
cyberian and information broker

8. Reference Interview
 Reference interview: a personal discussion between a
user and ref librarian.
 the ref librarian collects background user information and
seeks to understand the specific information need(s) of the
user as well as the individual’s subject knowledge and the
reason for request
 the ref librarian is able to filter the retrieved information
in order to select the most appropriate source(s)
 Ref interview is reactive – respond to a request by users
 Proactive services anticipate the needs of users before
they ask.
 E.g. current awareness and selective dissemination of
information services

9. Evolution of ref service
 Card catalogue
 Online public access catalogues (OPACs)
 CD-ROMs as digital storage devices
 Online-based information databases on the
Internet
 Electronic Access to Reference Services (EARS) launched by the
University of Maryland Health Services Library in Baltimore in
1984
 E-mail reference service - the most common
method of digital ref service
 Challenge: asynchronous nature of the interaction:
library staff cannot interview the user in real time
 Can delay responses
 AskA Librarian services - web forms

10. Elements of Digital Ref Service
 Chat room services
 Commercial call centre software to communicate
with users in real time
 Videoconference or web-cam services
 Elements
 the user of the service
 the interface (e-mail, web form, chat,
videoconference, etc.),
 the information professional, and
 electronic resources (including electronic or CD-based
resources, web resources, local digitised materials)