I continually hear librarians say that they don’t do reference anymore, and I think, How can that be possible? Well, maybe they don’t have a print reference collection and maybe they don’t have a reference desk, but I bet they still answer reference questions and help their users. So I first began by developing a PowerPoint presentation about all the ways librarians are...

I would like to acknowledge the excellent work of my research assistant, Vanessa Kitzie, who has worked tirelessly with me to bring this book to completion. Also thanks to the faculty and students in the Department of Library and Information Science at Rutgers University who are a constant source of information and inspiration.

As librarians we have paid attention to developing our collections and correctly answering questions from our patrons. Discussion has taken place regarding how we provide reference services (it is scattered throughout the literature); however, the development of new service models has not taken a strong hold in the profession. Some librarians continue to hold on to the traditional reference desk...

As discussed in chapter 1, the reference desk model that has been with us since the middle of the nineteenth century has served as the traditional way of structuring reference services. Librarians have been taught that sitting at the reference desk and looking ready to help is the best way of...

Reference services are changing as librarians realize they must reach patrons where they are. Not all patrons want or can come to a physical library. Many barriers stand in the way of people using libraries, such as distance, cost, time, or disability. Further, patrons may...

As the information needs of library patrons change, librarians are rethinking their reference staffing needs and models. More traditional models need to change, which can mean introducing a completely new model or altering an existing one. As the first three chapters discuss, library patrons have heightened expectations for convenient and personalized service, which has translated to an increased...

Outreach services can be defined as moving out from the traditional reference services offered within the library. All libraries have many potential user groups beyond their four walls who simply do not frequent the library often or at all. They need and welcome library services but for many reasons do not take advantage of them. As below case studies illustrate, potential users may not be aware...

The education and training of reference librarians has widened in scope from just answering the question correctly to an emphasis on the reference librarian’s interaction with the patron. Further, digital technologies have increased both the diversity of information sources (e.g., electronic resources) and the ways that librarians can communicate with patrons (e.g., via instant message,...

In our intensely competitive world it is not just enough to provide basic services. Librarians must also monitor how they are doing to improve this service and to be accountable to their patrons and to their funding body. It is becoming routine to...

As reference collections move away from print and toward electronic resources, the ways reference services can be offered are also changing, opening the door to many ways to engage the patron. Although print reference collections have not entirely disappeared, the remaining print collections are much smaller than they formerly were. Electronic reference collections are growing as the print...

Chapter by chapter, this book discusses the many ways that reference work is changing. Although the physical desk has not completely disappeared, librarians are reaching their patrons in a variety of ways beyond it—within the library using a tiered reference model, roving...

academic libraries,B02.7 , 1.14 , T01_001.t1 , 1.26 , 1.27 , 1.31 , 1.33 , 1.39 , 1.42 , 2.8 , 2.37 , 2.53 , 3.47 , 3.48 , 3.67 , 4.1 , 4.27 , C04_chap04.t1 ,...

Kay Ann Cassell is presently an assistant teaching professor at the School of Communication and Information, Department of Library and Information Science, at Rutgers University. Her areas of teaching and research include reference services and collection development. Cassell has been the director of several public libraries and an academic library as well as working as a reference...