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The Interview at the reference desk
In order to write this report, I visited a large academic library. It took me some time to locate the reference desk since I could not notice any signs pointing the directions, so I had to ask one of the visitors how it can be found. When I approached the desk, the reference librarian looked at me and asked if she could help me. She immediately established eye contact with me and maintained a friendly tone of voice. This behavior strategy is fully consistent with the requirements set by the Reference and User Services Association, RUSA (2004).
My pathfinder topic was leadership and I said to the reference librarian that I was looking for some information about the leadership in modern organizations. In turn, she pointed out that this topic is very broad and asked me to tell more about the topic. Again, this is one of the standards set by RUSA (2004, unpaged). While interviewing me, she asked mostly open-ended questions such as “What else can you tell me about the topic” and in this way enabled me to express my thoughts freely (Derwin & Dewdney, 1986, p 6; Whitlatch, 2000, p 120).
Additionally, she asked me whether I needed information about a specific leadership theory or about a specific company. She recommended several books which could be of interest to me. Moreover, while looking for information on the online catalog, she used a set of keywords, related to leadership. As a result, she managed to find several scholarly articles that were relevant to my topic. Overall, I can say that this reference librarian did help me with my research, and I learned much from the sources which were suggested to me.
Virtual Environment
Secondly, I submitted the same question to a virtual reference service of this library. This library uses an instant message program that allows the user to type a question without having to provide personal information such as name, age, or domicile. Nonetheless, I was asked to tell whether I went to high school or attended college. Thus, it is possible for me to say that the functioning of virtual reference system reflects the standards of RUSA; according to them, virtual reference system must collect relevant information about the customer without compromising his/her privacy (RUSA, 2004, Section 3.10, unpaged; Katz, 2003).
I started the conversation by greeting the librarian to which she responded, “Hello, how can I help you”. It should be noted that she also told me her name and in this way she was able to establish better word contact (Anderson, 2009, unpaged). The reference librarian suggested that I should narrow down the scope of the topic by asking me open-ended questions such as “Could you tell me more about the topic you are interested in?”.
While searching for the information in databases such as ProQuest or Emerald, she asked me whether my sources have to be published within a certain period of time. Apart from that, she told me about the keywords and Boolean operators that she used while searching for the sources. During our conversation, the reference librarian had to be away for a short while, and she politely asked me to wait. Finally, she provided me with an extensive list of sources both books and peer-reviewed journals that could be directly related to my topic.
Overall, I was rather satisfied with this conversation since the reference librarians were very polite and they greatly assisted me with the search for books and articles. However, our interactions could have been more productive, if they could tell me more about the strategies they use while searching for the information on the library catalog or on the Internet.
Recommendations
As I have said in the previous section, I was quite satisfied with the conversations that I had with two reference librarians. However, there are several areas that require improvement. One of the recommendations is to post signs that show the way to a reference desk or to various departments of the library. By doing it, librarians would be able to improve time management which is essential for the effective functioning of the library (Baruah 2002).
Furthermore, the patrons will not have to ask librarians or visitors for directions. The second recommendation is related more to the interactions between the reference librarian and the patron. They could have been more productive if the librarians could explain how exactly they search for the information either on the Internet or through the card catalog. A librarian has to teach readers information-seeking skills; in fact, this is one of his/her responsibilities (Gregory, 2005, p 19; Cassell & Hiremath, 2009).
I do understand that reference librarians may have to serve hundreds of readers per day; thus, it might be necessary to develop a manual or a set of instructions, showing how one can find books and articles in the library or on the Internet. It seems to me that this strategy will greatly improve the work of librarians and enhance customers’ satisfaction. These are the key areas to which the management should pay attention to.
Reference List
Anderson C. (2009). How to be a person: Tips and tricks for virtual reference. C&RL News, 70 (10). Web.
Baruah. A. (2002). Library Database Management. New Jersey: Gyan Publishing House.
Cassell, K. A., & Hiremath, U. (2009). Reference and information services in the 21st century: An introduction. (2nd ed.). New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.
Dervin, B., & Dewdney, P. (1986). Neutral questioning: A new approach to the reference interview. Research Quarterly, 25, 1-11. Web.
Gregory G. (2005). The successful academic librarian: winning strategies from library leaders. NY: Information Today, Inc.
Katz. W. (2003). Digital reference services. London: Routledge Reference and User Service Association.
(2004). Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers. Web.
Ronan, J, Reakes, P & Ochoa, M. (2006). Application of Reference Guidelines in Chat Reference Interactions: A Study of Online Reference Skills. College and Undergraduate Libraries 13, (4), pp. 3-23. Academic Search Complete.
Whitlatch J. 2000. Evaluating reference services: a practical guide. NY: ALA Editions.
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