What is the best model of reference service?

Library Trends, Fall, 2001 by David A. Tyckoson

ABSTRACT

REFERENCE SERVICE IS BASED UPON A SET of core functions that have remained valid since the earliest days of the public library movement. Inherent in those functions is a set of core values, including accuracy, thoroughness, timeliness, authority, instruction, access, individualization, and knowledge. Models of reference service that emphasize different aspects of those values take very different forms. In determining the best model for a specific library, the values of the community that the library serves must be taken into account. No one model is best for all libraries.

For anyone using libraries today, reference service is a standard feature. Regardless of the type of library, the size of its collections, or the demographics of its users, patrons expect to get help with everything from complex research projects to finding materials in the collections. Service has become almost synonymous with libraries.

This was not always the case. Reference service is a relatively recent development in library history, and the methods in which reference services are provided are still evolving. Administrators and reference librarians alike struggle to develop the most efficient and effective means of providing reference service to their users. During a time when change seems to be the only constant, librarians are seeking new models for providing service to their users.

Beginning around 1980, a number of innovative methods for providing reference service began to be created and promoted in the literature. From the Rethinking Reference project (Rettig, 1992) to the Brandeis model of tiered reference service (Massey-Burzio, 1992) to 24/7 online call-center-based electronic information services (Coffman, 1999), each new method has been promoted as the next revolution in the provision of service. Those who create these methods are often lauded for their innovations; while at the same time, those who retain older models often worry that they are becoming marginalized and outdated. Predictions of the demise of libraries in general--and of reference services in particular (Campbell, 1992)--have left many reference librarians wondering what the future holds in store. Some wonder if reference has a future at all.

Many see the values that attracted them to the field of reference as slipping away in a sea of electrons. Newly hired reference librarians often reinforce this perception as they show clear preferences for the Internet and databases over traditional reference works and the library catalog. At a time when fear seems to be replacing faith as one of the prime motivating factors among reference librarians, we need to reexamine the foundation of what we do and identify the core values inherent in reference services. By viewing change within those values, we can better understand how new models of service can enhance--or hinder--the provision of reference service.

LIBRARIES AND COMMUNITY

With very few exceptions, libraries are not independent organizations. Virtually every library serves a broader institution and is directly responsible to that institution. Public libraries serve the people living within specific geographic and political boundaries--most commonly a city or county. School libraries serve the students of a specific school or district. Academic libraries serve the students and faculty of a specific college or university. Special libraries serve the staff of a specific company, government agency, or organization. In each case, to be effective the library must meet the unique information and service needs of its own community. Expectations for information and service needs vary greatly from one community to another (even for the same kind of library), but the role of each library is to meet particular expectations of its own community. Although the function of a corporate library may appear to be very different from that of a public library, each serves as the information center for its own clientele.

In order to survive, the library must develop a symbiotic relationship with its parent community. Successful libraries serve their community and are rewarded for that service. The community benefits from the information and services provided by the library; the library benefits from receiving a strong political, economic, and cultural status. Both community and library grow and evolve together. A community that neglects its library will need to develop other means for satisfying its informational needs--or go without. If the library fails to provide useful information and services, the community will turn elsewhere for those functions. In each of these cases, the library will wither and die--and the community will also suffer.

Although libraries are highly complex organizations, their activities can be boiled down to three distinct functions. First, libraries select and collect information relevant to their community. Historically, this selection process has been the heart of what libraries do. Librarians sort through the universe of available information and bring together the portion that is most relevant to the parent institution. To be successful, librarians must know the needs of their community and reflect those needs in the library's collection. From ancient times, libraries have identified and collected information of value to their community.