What Are Information Services? What Are Information Services? Defining Reference Service Defining Reference Service LIB 640 Information Sources and Services Summer 2009
What are Information Services--2003 version
Nov 11, 2014
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What Are Information Services?What Are Information Services?Defining Reference ServiceDefining Reference Service
LIB 640 Information Sources and ServicesSummer 2009
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What are information services?What are information services?
And what do they have And what do they have to do with schools and to do with schools and libraries?libraries?
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Information ServicesInformation Services
For the purposes of this class, For the purposes of this class, we can define information we can define information services as any service intended services as any service intended to provide information for a to provide information for a client or user, or assist a client or client or user, or assist a client or user in finding informationuser in finding information
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reference services • All the functions performed by a trained
librarian employed in the reference section of a library to meet the information needs of patrons (in person, by telephone, or electronically), including but not limited to answering substantive questions, instructing users in the selection and use of appropriate tools and techniques for finding information, conducting searches on behalf of the patron, directing users to the location of library resources, assisting in the evaluation of information, referring patrons to resources outside the library when appropriate, keeping reference statistics, and participating in the development of the reference collection.
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What Is Reference?
Why Is It Important? Why Is It Important? • The goal of reference work is to
meet people’s information needs.
• Reference work includes finding out what information people need and using library resources to provide that information. • http://www.olc.org/Ore/1what.htm
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Important reminderImportant reminder
Reference work is about people Reference work is about people • those who need information and
those who provide it. Reference service is providing information to meet the needs of the individual library users in your community.• Module 1 - People
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What is the reference process?What is the reference process? The reference process includes the following:The reference process includes the following:
1. Encouraging the patron to contact the library when there is an information need.
2. Finding out what the real information need is.
3. Finding the information that will meet the need.
4. Making sure the patron’s need really has been met.
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Reference questionsReference questions
Reference Question:Reference Question:• Any request by a library user for
information or assistance in locating information• Frequently Used Library Terms
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Then, there’s the reference interviewThen, there’s the reference interview
Reference interview?Reference interview?• In the reference process, knowing how
to get the question is a critical step toward finding the right answer. Determining the real question is accomplished through the reference interview. The reference interview is a discussion between you and your patron. It involves asking the right questions and listening carefully to the answers.• Houston Area Library System HALS
Reference123 Module 2..Questions The Reference Interview
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Thought-provokingThought-provoking According to Robert Taylor, the According to Robert Taylor, the
reference interview isreference interview is• “one of the most complex acts of
human communication,” for in this act “one person tries to describe for another person not something he knows, but rather something he does not know.”• “Question Negotiation and Information
Seeking in Libraries,” College and Research Libraries 29 (May 1968): 180. Quoted in Tibbo, Helen. “Learning to Love Our Users: A Challenge to the Profession and a Model for Practice.” 2002. Online at http://www.ils.unc.edu/tibbo/MAC Spring 2002.pdf
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Communication with a PurposeCommunication with a Purpose
The reference librarian “is involved in The reference librarian “is involved in diagnostic and prescriptive activity.”diagnostic and prescriptive activity.”• “what people ask for [want] is
often not what they really need. Thus, it is important to have the diagnostic session so that the client will be given the right information and will be successful.”• Robinson, William C. “
The Reference Interview.” Online at http://web.utk.edu/~wrobinso/590ref_interview.html
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““Why can't they ask for what they want?”Why can't they ask for what they want?”
Mary Ellen Bates:Mary Ellen Bates:1. They don't know the extent of
your information resources. 2. They don't know how to ask
for what they want. 3. They feel the information is
too confidential to disclose fully.
• “The Art of the Reference Interview.” Presentation at ONLINE WORLD, Sept. 15, 1997. Online at http://www.librarysupportstaff.com/refintviewbates.html
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““Why can’t they ask for what they want?”Why can’t they ask for what they want?”
4. They aren’t really sure yet what they want.
5. They aren’t sure you can find the information.
6. They don’t think you understand the subject.
• Bates, “The Art of the Reference Interview.”
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Basic ConsiderationsBasic Considerations1. The student may not know what to
expect.
2. The “average” student may have no preknowledge of the type of resource(s) that will answer his or her question.
3. The student’s communication skills may not be as refined as yours.
4. The student may not know the terminology (library lingo) used in the reference interview.
• Riedling, Ann Marlow. “Great Ideas for Improving Reference Interviews.” Book Report. 19.3
(Nov/Dec2000): 28-29.
Ann Riedling
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Considerations, cont.Considerations, cont.5. The student may lack knowledge about
the subject, the assignment, or the usage policies of the SLMC.
6. The student may misinterpret your nonverbal or verbal cues.
7. The student may be fearful of you or frustrated about the question being raised.
8. Communications may become miscommunications when a student is unable to verbalize his or her information need.
• Riedling, “Great Ideas.”
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Miscommunication happens!Miscommunication happens! Examples:Examples:
• Patron asks for information on “career.” Turned out he meant “Korea.”
• After showing the patron several book about Buddhism, I realized that was not what he meant when he asked for information on Nirvana.
• the Hawaiian volcano, Killer Whale • Miscommunications in Libraries. Now an
archived site. • See also Weird library reference questions
Deep Reference Question • Yes, an actual question:
If I ate only Cheetos, would I turn orange?
• See all the posts labeled “Reference” made by The Liberry aka Amy or Marian The at http://lovetheliberry.blogspot.com/search/label/reference
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Types of problemsTypes of problems Reference librarians are used to dealing with Reference librarians are used to dealing with
situations like these:situations like these:• Homophones, a word the librarian interprets
with one meaning while the user means the other: e.g., Wales/Whales; China/china.
• user misunderstands and, in turn, conveys this misunderstanding to the librarian: i.e., “I need the book Catch Her in the Eye” (Catcher in the Rye)
• user understands the concept but does not use the correct terms: i.e., I need the book, “Battle of the Planets” - (War of the Worlds) • Gale/ALISE Bibliographic Instruction Support
Program. Instructional Module 2: Importance of the Reference Interview . No longer available online.
Oranges and Peaches: A Classic ArticleOranges and Peaches: A Classic Article
Understanding Communication Accidents in Understanding Communication Accidents in the Reference Interviewthe Reference Interview• In the reference transaction, the librarian
must have a clear, complete understanding of the user’s information need before a satisfactory answer can be given. Often the question must be negotiated through a reference interview, where the librarian will attempt to clarify, expand, and perhaps repair the query as it is initially presented by the user.
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Structure of the InterviewStructure of the Interview ORE Skills and steps in the reference ORE Skills and steps in the reference
interview:interview:• Paraphrasing• Asking open questions• Clarifying• Verifying• Getting all the needed information (the
6 pieces of evidence)• Following up• Ending the interview
• Reference Interview Module 2http://www.olc.org/Ore/2interview.htm
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Questioning TechniquesQuestioning Techniques
Types of questions:Types of questions:• Open• Clarifying• Paraphrasing• Verifying• Neutral• “Why”• Closed
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What are neutral questions?What are neutral questions?
Neutral questionsNeutral questions• “Neutral questions are open in form,
avoid premature diagnosis of the problem, and structure the interview along dimensions universally important to users -- their gaps, their situations, the bridges they wish to construct, and the outcomes they wish to achieve.”• Dervin, B., & Dewdney, P. (1986). Neutral
questioning: A new approach to the reference interview. RQ, 25 (4): 506-513. Abstract online at http://communication.sbs.ohio-state.edu/sense-making/art/artabsdervindewd86nq.html
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Uses of Neutral QuestionsUses of Neutral Questions
Used to discover the user’s Used to discover the user’s motivation and objectives without motivation and objectives without asking “why” questionsasking “why” questions
• What would you like to know about X?• How do you plan to use this information?• How would this information help you?
• Freund, L. “Question Negotiation in Online Searching.” Powerpoint presentation. Online at http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/FIS/Courses/LIS1325/QuestionNego.pdf
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Evidence NeededEvidence Needed What do you want to end up with at the What do you want to end up with at the
conclusion of the interview? conclusion of the interview? • Purpose• Deadline• Type and Amount• Who• Where• The Basic Question
• 6 Pieces of Evidence. Houston Area Library System Reference Training Module 2. Online at http://www.hals.lib.tx.us/ref123/2evidence.htm
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Ending the InterviewEnding the Interview
Close• Check if the question has been or
can be answered with the material at hand.
• Check to see if the person is satisfied at the moment.
• Expressly offer additional help as needed.
• Withdraw cordially.• “The Reference Interview: A Common-Sense Review.”
Online at http://www.infopeople.org/training/past/2004/reference/ASCLAALAref_interview.pdf
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Reference in the School LibraryReference in the School Library
Types of interviewsTypes of interviews• Ready reference interviews
• Include questions that can be answered with short factual information
• Research project interviews• Involve in-depth coverage of a topic,
often requiring the use of multiple sources
• Readers’ advisory interviews• Recommending good leisure reading
• Ann Riedling, Reference Skills for the School Library Media Specialist, 2nd ed.
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Face-to-face ReferenceFace-to-face Reference
• Part of the joy of the reference interview is its tangible, tactile nature and the slow buildup as you gather enough information to begin the search process. You listen, question, and listen again; you pick up cues from gestures and facial expressions. • Schneider, Karen G. “
Internet Librarian: In Your Dreams: A Y2K Fantasy.” American Libraries December 1999. Online at http://archive.ala.org/alonline/netlib/il1299.html
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Email ReferenceEmail Reference
Eileen Abels (Eileen Abels (1996) suggests that ) suggests that • every reference question should take
between three exchanges -- the question by the patron, a summary of the question by the librarian, and a confirmation of the question by the patron -- and five -- the three already listed plus a second round of summarization by the librarian, and a confirmation by the patron. • Staley, Laura: “
E-Mail Reference: Experiences at City University.” PNLA Quarterly, 62.4 (Summer 1998). Online at http://www.pnla.org/quart/su98/staley.htm
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Digital ReferenceDigital Reference
What is Digital Reference? What is Digital Reference? • Digital reference services, also
called “Ask-An-Expert” (or “AskA”) services, are Internet-based question and answer services that connect users (frequently members of the K-12 education community) with individuals who possess specialized subject or skill expertise. • Guidelines for Information Specialists of K-12 Digital
Reference Services
What about virtual reference?What about virtual reference?
What is Virtual Reference?What is Virtual Reference?• Virtual reference is the provision of library
reference services through digital or electronic information technology. In the case of Ask A Question (AAQ), it means that individuals are able to ask for and receive reference assistance at any time using any computer with Internet access, whether they are at home, at work, in the library or elsewhere.
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3131Digital (or Virtual) Reference in School Digital (or Virtual) Reference in School Libraries?Libraries?
Virtual Reference @ Your Library Virtual Reference @ Your Library • I believe school libraries and the students
they serve have the most to gain from real-time online reference. The users, in this case students, are generally very comfortable with computers and with chat technology. In fact, many of them would rather chat online with a teacher or librarian than ask for help in person. • Sarah Houghton, “Virtual Reference @ Your
Library” Knowledge Quest January/February 2005
Examples of digital reference Examples of digital reference in a school situation?in a school situation?
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