10B: Reflection on Readings

This week’s readings were about “reference is dead”. Earlier this semester, we read an article about reference dying that was published more than a decade ago. And yet still, librarians are discussing whether or not reference is dead. In my opinion, it’s not dead, it’s just changing and evolving. To be able to help others, one needs to have basic skills and therefore needs to be trained as a reference librarian. I see reference changing as becoming more about customer service, because not everybody comes up to the reference desk to ask a reference question, but may want to use your phone, or help with a stapler or hole puncher not working. One article that we read, “The Changing World of Library Reference” states that those going to library school need to be trained differently, that reference services “needs a customer service revamp with a side of social work and a generous helping of interpersonal communication and psychology.” This is how I see reference changing. It’s all about customer service, but you also need interpersonal communication skills no matter what. I also sometimes feel like a social worker or psychologist when dealing with the public patrons that come in. They either need help filling things out, like job application, resumes, or signing up for insurance (which happened the other day) or they like to tell you their problems. And this is what another article (“Where Reference Fits in the Modern Library”) talks about, that “the library today is still a trusted institution [therefore] the public is coming to us with different expectations.”

I will say this: if reference is truly dead, then it is in regards to print materials. The author of “Where Reference Fits in the Modern Library” article talks about how his library only bought one reference book in the last few years and that was the DSM 5 which today is still a very widely used source. We have 2 copies at my library: one at the reference desk and one in main collection that is ALWAYS checked out. My coworker asked me recently to add the United States Annotated Code law books to our pickup list to see if they are getting looked at at all. They haven’t been. Not one has been looked at in the last 2 months to my knowledge based on my compilation of our monthly pickup stats. My coworker wants to aptly demonstrate that there is absolutely no need for us to spend thousands of dollars each year for this one collection when nobody is looking at it. Patrons used to look at it all the time, and it was heavily used, but it hasn’t been in recent years. I can only assume that it’s because it’s easier to search for the laws online than it is in person.

The author of “Where Reference Fits in the Modern Library” talks about reference is changing because what patrons want is changing: “They want help doing things, rather than finding things.” This is very true. A lot of it involves technology. Most of the reference and circulation transactions that I have to report are under the category of “ITS Help”. The author states that, “Helping patrons to do things is radically different from traditional reference. It requires a different knowledge from library staff, and greater flexibility in time and staffing, so that a librarian can actually work with a patron for 30 minutes.” This ties in nicely and agrees with the other article about how customer service, and social worker skills, etc. are needed to be taught to the librarians. Some of the librarians don’t know how to do something on the computer so then they ask the student circulation workers for help; usually this involves technology like how to use the ITS printers and such. The librarians weren’t trained on them, but the students know how to do it. Or the librarian may ask a student worker to help change the toner in the printer or fill it up with paper because it can be time consuming and take away from what they are doing, which is watching the desk in case someone comes up or the phone rings. A librarian can easily be gone for 30 minutes trying to help someone with Microsoft Word, etc. I’ve been gone for that amount of time numerous times, trying to help patrons. Sometimes I get waved down when I’m out and about running errands. But the time is costly and a problem when I have to watch either the reference or circulation desks.

The author of a blog I read titled “If Reference is Dead, We Need an ID on the Body” has the same opinions as I do. That only a part of reference is dead, and that would be ready reference. She states that “reference has never been about the question, it’s always been about the service.” She goes on to talk about how library usage is increasing and people want service, so reference isn’t necessarily dying, but maybe changing. She ends with a good point: “Using ‘reference is dead’ to cut reference librarians, instead of going through the more extensive exercise of transforming information services into what our communities need now will make us less relevant, not more relevant.”