Competency I: Reference Services

“Core Competency I — use service concepts, principles, and techniques to connect individuals or groups with accurate, relevant, and appropriate information.”

 Introduction

 Libraries were and are built for no other purpose than to serve the community of which they are a part. It stands to reason, then, that so many of the core competencies which make up effective librarianship are based in service because that is the foundation of the profession. The most visible role played by the information professional to the public is assisting patrons with information retrieval. That service may entail assisting someone with navigating complex databases or simply helping a child find a book to use in a book report or assisting a patron to check out a DVD for the evening’s entertainment. We serve our patrons’ information and entertainment needs by connecting these patrons with what they seek.

 Service Concepts and Principles

 Because reference is a key duty of information specialists, studies have been conducted to evaluate the accuracy of reference encounter results and the satisfaction. I wrote a review of an article discussing one of these studies (please see I_Evidence_1. The article is important because it draws attention the fact that the better we understand what works, the better the services that we can provide to our patrons, particularly in this area. Some of the things the studies have sought to address are:

• What makes good reference service?
• What are things that can adversely (or positively) affect reference outcomes?
• How can we improve our reference services?

There were two criteria found to measure the quality of reference services, that is 1) accuracy of the information found, and 2) satisfaction of the user.

 Techniques

 One of the things that was found in the studies mentioned above is that the more specific the query, the more accurate the reference experience is. One way to clarify and narrow search terms is by conducting a thorough reference interview. In another article which I reviewed (see I_Evidence_2), the reference interview is defined and its value is discussed. One of the reasons given for conducting a reference interview is to save time. Much time and effort is wasted when patrons follow the wrong sources, when information specialists process requests for the wrong materials or direct patrons to the wrong sources, only to have to start the search over. A good reference interview involves asking pertinent questions to clarify the information request.

Librarians are concerned with connecting patrons with the information they seek through service. Another technique to make this happen is to pass on the skills needed to conduct an accurate search beyond keywords to users. The drawback to this is that human nature dictates that we will follow the path of least resistance as described in my notes (see I_Evidence_3), as the “Principle of Least Effort.” Most people will settle for the easiest, most accessible source of information whether or not that information is accurate or the source reliable or objective. This theory has been helpful in studying any lack in the use of libraries and library materials because what it tells us is that accessing relevant and accurate information through library sources because of the thoroughness of the searching process, is too much work for people accustomed to the convenience and ease of internet search engines which may or may not provide accurate information. This is the challenge in providing reference services to those users seeking accurate and relevant information.

 Conclusion

 The most important function of a reference encounter is helping the customer find what s/he is seeking. There are valid reasons why this may not happen sometimes, but I think that our best practice is to give them our attention until they have the information they need or want. By paying attention to the person who is seeking assistance in information retrieval, we can determine what information they are seeking, even if they have trouble articulating their need. We as librarians must go above and beyond "Google" to connect our patrons with the most accurate and reliable information resources at our disposal. As librarians we are in a unique position through our specialized knowledge and training to find and assist our patrons to fill their information needs.