1. The document discusses reference services in academic libraries and how they are changing in the shifting information landscape. 2. It was written by Julie Piacentine, a reference librarian and instruction specialist at the University of Chicago Library. 3. The document covers topics like the iSchool movement, usability, gender trends in library and information science education, and assessment of reference services.

1. A P R I L 2 5 TH , 2 0 1 2
REFERENCE SERVICES
IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES:
GUIDES IN THE CHANGING INFORMATION
LANDSCAPE
JULIE PIACENTINE
REFERENCE LIBRARIAN, INSTRUCTION SPECIALIST
JOSEPH REGENSTEIN LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
© 2011 J. Pitcher

2. THE INFORMATION SCHOOLS MOVEMENT
Information Schools -- “iSchools” -- address
the relationship between
information, technology, and people.
Develop understanding of the uses and
users of information, as well as information
technologies and their applications.
S o u r c e : h t t p : / / w w w. i s c h o o l s . o r g / s i t e / a b o u t / . A c c e s s e d A p r i l 3 , 2 0 1 2 .

3. INFORMATION SCIENCE SPECIALIZATIONS
Archives & Records Management Information Policy
Community Informatics Library Science
Human Computer Interaction Preservation of Information
Information Analysis & Retrieval School Library Media
Information Economics Social Computing

4. Usability is the extent to which a design
can be used:
 by specific users
 to achieve specific goals
with:
 effectiveness
 efficiency
 satisfaction
Source: Usability 101: Introduction to Usability by Jakob Nielsen.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html

5. Usability consists of:
 Learnability
 Efficiency
 Memorability
 Error recovery
 Satisfaction
Source: Usability 101: Introduction to Usability by Jakob Nielsen.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html

6. USABILITY ASSESSMENT

7. USABILITY ASSESSMENT
Contents
 Links removed/added
Labels
 “Quick Links” is effective
 Some link labels revised
Location
 Not effective - needs to be
more prominent

8. INFORMATION SCHOOL / LIBRARY SCHOOL
OVERLAP
ALA-
Accredited
Schools
iSchools
ALA-Accredited Schools = 40
North American iSchools = 25
Source: Directory of ALA-Accredited Master's
Programs in Library and Information Studies. ALA-Accredited iSchools = 18
http://www.ala.org/accreditedprograms/directory

9. GENDER IN LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE
EDUCATION
Women comprise 80.2% of ALA-accredited
Master’s of Library Science enrollment.
Gender distribution is more equal for the
Master’s of Information Science
degree, where women constitute 48.2% of all
students.
Source: Association for Library and Information Science Education, Statistical Report, 2004.

10. Depiction of
the Library of
A l e xa n d r i a b y
1 9 th C e n t u r y
e n g r a ve r, O .
vo n C o r ve n

11. LIBRARIES ARE FORMAT AGNOSTIC
5/1/2012
© 2011 University of Chicago Library

12. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LIBRARY
TOTAL VOLUMES MADE ACCESSIBLE
11000000
10729052
10500000
10144360
10000000
9500000 9330221
9000000
8500000
FY09 FY10 FY11

13. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LIBRARY
PRINT VOLUMES ADDED
185000 181558
180000
174208
175000
170000
165000
160000
155000 153488
150000
145000
140000
135000
FY09 FY10 FY11

14. © 2011 Rossiter

16. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LIBRARY
ELECTRONIC VOLUMES ADDED
500000
447679
450000
400000
354816
350000
300000
250000
200000
157768
150000
100000
50000
0
FY09 FY10 FY11

17. (cc) 2012 Mike Licht

18. “The information landscape of
early 21 st century higher
education is characterized by
ubiquitous, digitized, indexed
, online access to content.”
-From the 2008
Council on Library
and Information
Resources
report, No Brief
Candle:
Reconceiving
Research
Libraries for the
2 1 st C e n t u r y

19. © 2010 Julie Piacentine

20. Archival Photographic Files, apf2-06119, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

21. Archival Photographic Files, apf2-06121, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

22. © 2012 Jason Smith

23. REFERENCE SERVICES

24. Patron: Hi. I'm having a very difficult time tracking down publication of a specific
public law.
Librarian: Hi, thanks for using Ask a Librarian. I’d be happy to help. What are you
looking for?
Patron: I need to find [a specific law] passed by [a specific congress]. I don’t have
an HR number or a PL number. It was sponsored by [a specific senator].
Librarian: One moment while I search…
Librarian: I found text of a congressional report, which might match, in LexisNexis
Congressional. Here is the link. Take a look and let me know if it is not what you
need.
Patron: This is excellent. It links to [PL number], which is the law I needed. Thank
you for solving the impossible!

25. Patron: Hello?
Librarian: Hi! Thanks for using Ask a Librarian. This is [name]. How may I help
you?
Patron: Hi [name]. My name is [name]. I need help finding dissertations by other
graduate students at [my university]. Are these available online?
Librarian: There is a database which contains many of these dissertations. Here
are the steps to access it:
…
Patron: This works splendidly!
Librarian: Great! Let me know if there’s something specific I can help you find.
Patron: I’ve already found what I was looking for. :-)

26. Patron: Hi. what is LP? the format LP
Librarian: Hi, thanks for using Ask a Librarian.
Patron: I’m searching for audio/video
Librarian: An LP is a vinyl record. “LP” stands for “long play” or “long-playing” and
refers to a full-length album.
Patron: oh, ok… thanks

27. IM REFERENCE PATRON FEEDBACK
“This service is awesome. “I’ve never used this
I have been able to save
myself a few unnecessary help function
trips.” before, but it is so
helpful and
efficient.”
“The [IM] widget is great!
Makes it so easy to get
answers!”
“It’s so great that I
can do this live!”
“I love, love, love this service!!!!!!!”

28. TEXT MESSAGE (SMS) REFERENCE

30. “It is useful to frame current virtual
reference services in terms of the
history of remote reference.
Whether a librarian chooses to
send a letter, write an e-mail, or
video chat with a user, his intended
goal is the same. The only
difference is the medium he selects
-Daniel Hickey
and the constraints that medium i n R e f e r e nc e
R e b o r n:
B r e a t hi ng Ne w
places on communication.” Life into
Public
Services
L i b r a r i a ns h i p

31. Reference
Instruction Outreach
Instruction Reference
Outreach

32. “A look over this decade
shows that reference has been
transformed from an area
focused on resources and
artifacts to one that explores a
human process of
questioning, contextualizing, a
-Marie Radford
nd learning.” i n R e f e r e nce
Renaissance:
C u r r e nt &
F u t u r e Tr e n d s

33. “By understanding that a
reference transaction is a
learning event, reference staff
must be aware of all the
potential means of facilitating
learning.”
- R . D a vi d
L a n k es i n
Reference
Renaissance:
C u r r e nt &
F u t u r e Tr e n d s

34. © 2012 Jason Smith

35. (cc) 2010 Berkman Center for Internet & Society

36. (cc) 2011 David Silver

37. © 2012 Jason Smith

39. U N IVER SIT Y O F C H IC A G O R EG EN ST EIN L IB R A RY
IN ST R U C T ION STAT IST IC S
2000 1607
1034 1283
1500
1000
500
Participants
0 89
91
132 Sessions
FY09
FY10
FY11

40. ONLINE LEARNING RESOURCES

41. THREE PARADIGMS OF LIBRARIANSHIP
Systems-centered User-centered Knowledge-
Librarianship Librarianship construction-
centered
Librarianship
Goal of librarianship Systematically Fulfill patrons’ Aid information
organize materials information needs seekers’ processes
to facilitate access of knowledge
and use construction
Goal of reference Help patrons Deduce and fulfill Enable the process
retrieve materials users’ information of knowledge
from the information needs construction
system
Reference librarian as Gatekeeper Intermediary Guide
- Hannah Kwon in Reference Renaissance: Current & Future Trends

42. “The future is less about
helping people find information
and more about helping people
use information. It is about
creating services before the
customers know they need
them.”
-Carla J.
S t o ff l e i n
Reference
Renaissance:
C u r r e nt &
F u t u r e Tr e n d s