What is the best model of reference service?

Library Trends, Fall, 2001 by David A. Tyckoson

The key value involved in reader's advisory is knowledge: knowledge of the reader; of the literature; and of the collection. A librarian who is good at this service must understand the needs of each patron. The librarian must understand the general interests of the community served by the library and must also relate to the specific needs of each patron. Reading level, language skills, and educational background all factor into good reader's advisory service. The librarian must also be aware of the universe of sources from which to recommend selections. Most reference librarians are also involved in collection development, and the subject knowledge gained from building the library collection transfers over to reader's advisory. Finally, the librarian must know the local collection. Suggesting sources that the reader cannot use is not only unhelpful, it is downright irritating. For example, it does little good to suggest that a patron search a database that the library does not offer. It aggravates the user, and it reflects poorly on the library, since the student will inevitably wonder why the library lacks the recommended source. Reader's advisory services depend on librarians who value and understand the relationship of the reader, the literature of the discipline, and the local collection.

The final function of Green's reference librarian is to promote the library within the community. While this function is certainly self-serving, it ensures that the other functions will continue to be available. Without support from the community, the library itself would fail. The implicit assumption is that the librarian is promoting the library on a one-on-one individual basis. According to Green (1876), "One of the best means of making a library popular is to mingle freely with its users and help them in every way" (p. 78). Reference is not something that is packaged and marketed to the masses; rather, it is a service that treats every library patron as an individual with unique needs. The library is promoted because each patron feels that the librarian is working specifically for him or her. For many community members, the library is one of the very few social institutions where they receive such service. Access and individualization are highly valued aspects of reference service.

Although much has changed in society over the past 125 years, these basic values remain at the foundation of reference service. Today's technology allows us to offer information services to anyone in anywhere. We now have more information available than at any other time in human history. Despite these advances, the basic values of reference service are virtually unchanged. The tools with which we work are very different from those in Green's time, but the process in which we are engaged is very similar.

CONFLICTING VALUES AND MODELS OF SERVICE

While the individual values upon which reference service is based remain unchanged, the emphasis among those values can vary greatly. Different models of reference service exist because each model emphasizes a different set of basic values. When a model that is based upon one value is evaluated on the basis of another, misunderstanding and conflict arise. Even within a single function of the reference process, such as answering patron questions, values of accuracy, timeliness, thoroughness, and authority are frequently in direct conflict with each other. To guarantee that an answer is thorough and accurate, the librarian may have to compromise on timeliness. For an answer to be timely, the librarian may not be able to guarantee authority or accuracy. The model of reference service chosen by an institution is an indication of which values are considered most important to the library--and to the community that it serves.