HOW IT WAS BEFORE?

REFERENCE SERVICES
EACH QUESTION, NO MATTER HOW ROUTINE IS OF
IMPORTANCE TO THE USER WHO ASK IT AND THAT
MEETING THE INFORMATION NEEDS OF EACH LIBRARY
USER IS THE GOAL OF AN EFFECTIVE REFERENCE
SERVICE.
Samuel Green, 1876,
Personal Relations between Librarians and Readers
REFERENCE SERVICE
According to Cassell, this service seeks to fulfill the greater
mission of the library by helping individual users. In which the
librarian interacts with a patron on a one-to-one basis. This
level of personal service has become even more important in
the twenty-first century in light of the alienating and
depersonalizing effects of many information technologies. On
the other hand, the way such service is provided has changed
considerablyit now extends beyond face-to-face assistance
thanks to the availability of the telephone, e-mail, and the
technology for chat and IM reference.

Reference:

http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/downloads/file/
sample_chapters/Cassell%20-%20Ch%201.pdf
Picture taken from: https://law.ucla.edu/library/
information-for-visitors/services/reference/
 SAMUEL S. GREEN 1876
American Library Journal, 1, 74-81

Personal relations between librarian and readers

Four components:

Instruct the reader in the ways in the library

Assist readers in solving their inquiries

Aid the reader in the selection of good works

Promote the library within the community

Reference: http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/
ala.org.rusa/files/content/sections/rss/rsssection/
Picture taken from: https://www.pinterest.com/
ctuai/libraries-of-color/?lp=true
rsscomm/evaluationofref/refdefbibrev.pdf
SANTA MONICA PUBLIC LIBRARY IMAGE ARCHIVES
Picture taken from: https://smpl.org/Library_History.aspx
TEXT

CHARLES WILLIAMSON 1923

Training for Library Service: A Report Prepared for the
Carnegie Corporation of New York

A study of the standard works of reference, general and special encyclopedias,

dictionaries, annuals, indexes to periodicals, ready reference manuals of every
kind, special bibliographies, and the more important newspapers and
periodicals. Works of similar scope are compared, and the limitations of each
pointed out. Lists of questions made up from practical experience are given,
and the method of finding the answers discussed in the class.

Guidelines were develop.

Reference: http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/downloads/file/sample_chapters/Cassell%20-%20Ch%201.pdf
CHICAGO MUNICIPAL REFERENCE LIBRARY 1927 SHOWING OL
TELEPHONE HANDSET
Picture taken from: https://www.chipublib.org/blogs/post/technology-that-changed-chicago-telephones-1893/
 GUERRIER, E. 1936
The measurement of reference service. Library Journal, 61, 529-31.

The classification of questions used in the recording of

every reference question asked in nine public library
systems in the US:

Questions about persons and places in the city

Questions about the library

Questions about the library catalog

Fact-finding questions

Questions requiring more or less research.

Questions about what to read.

Reference: http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/ala.org.rusa/files/content/sections/rss/rsssection/rsscomm/evaluationofref/
refdefbibrev.pdf Santa Monica Public Library
Picture taken from: https://smpl.org/mural/history.htm
REFERENCE DESK AT NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
(DATE UNKNOWN)
SHORES, L., 1937
Basic reference books; an introduction to the evaluation , study , and use of reference materials with special emphasis
on some 200 titles. Chicago: American Library Association.

Some duties of a reference librarian:

Answer questions: about community , whether city, campus, building, or library; about facts
Locate materials for speeches, papers and hobbies.
Research: compile bibliographies, annotate, abstract, or summarize literature in a given field,
document or establish assumptions
Instruction: INFORMAL-teach catalog use, or use of any reference tool at the time the
question is being answered, material located , or even research conducted; FORMAL- in
school and college courses; chapel, assembly, Freshman week and club cultures.
Advisory: Recreational and cultural reading advice
Reference: http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/ala.org.rusa/files/content/sections/rss/rsssection/rsscomm/evaluationofref/refdefbibrev.pdf
MILES, A., & MARTIN, L. (1941)
Public administration and the library. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Steps in the Measurement of a Library Objective

The objective: to promote educational activity
Reference: http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/ala.org.rusa/files/content/sections/rss/rsssection/rsscomm/
evaluationofref/refdefbibrev.pdf
1941 BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, 1943
Committee on Terminology, ALA glossary of library terms, with a selection of terms in related fields. Chicago:
American Library Association

Reference work is that phase of library work which is directly concerned with
assistance to readers in securing information and in using the resources of
the library in study and research.

Reference: http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/ala.org.rusa/files/content/sections/rss/rsssection/rsscomm/evaluationofref/
refdefbibrev.pdf
ROTHSTEIN, S. 1953
The development of the concept of reference service in American libraries, 1850-1900. Library Quarterly 23(1), 1-15

Not a peripheral function of the library

Responsible for interpreting the resources for the user

Necessary to assign personnel specifically to the task of interpretation

Librarian is required to discriminate between the sources of information and

adjust them to reader needs

To meet readers demands

ROTHSTEIN, S. 1953
The development of the concept of reference service in American libraries, 1850-1900. Library Quarterly 23(1), 1-15

There must be an attendant ready and competent to meet the readers questions , and
the reader should go directly to such an attendant rather than be sent to the catalog.

Librarian duties at the information desk:

Reference librarian presides

Assist readers in the search for information

Guide the reading public with a prepared list of references on topic s of the day or
subjects of general interest

Reference: http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/ala.org.rusa/files/content/sections/rss/rsssection/rsscomm/
evaluationofref/refdefbibrev.pdf
1953, KINSEY INSTITUTE
Picture taken from: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/512777107542322126/?lp=true
WHEELER, J.L., & GOLDHOR, G., 1962
Practical administration of public libraries. New York: Harper & Row.

THE REFERENCE FUNCTION IS THE HELP WHICH LIBRARIES GIVE READERS IN FINDING
THE INFORMATION THEY NEED.
Quoted from Mary Bartons definition:

Reference service may be defined as the librarians aid in bringing together the inquirer and the printed
materials he needs for whatever purposein other words, the librarian s skilled guidance in choosing
or tracking down the best book or books for a specific piece of information or for a specific purpose.

Reference: http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/ala.org.rusa/files/content/sections/rss/rsssection/rsscomm/evaluationofref/
refdefbibrev.pdf
 Ask Questions
Here

1962, DR. ELSPETH POPE AT WORLDS FAIR

RUGH, A.G., 1975
Toward a science of reference work: basic concepts, RQ, 14(4), 293-300.

Reference service is:

Direct aid to library users who need particular book or books (to include all formats), or who need some
information embodied in any books. (with personal assistance provided to patrons and instructional to
help the user select and use the proper materials).
Indirect aid to library users in the form of reference collection building and maintenance. (evaluating and
selecting materials for the collection , maintaining the collection in a form useful to the community
served and users are indirectly served).

Reference: http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/ala.org.rusa/files/content/sections/rss/rsssection/rsscomm/evaluationofref/refdefbibrev.pdf
Picture taken from: https://galter.northwestern.edu/news/the-feinberg-
school-celebrates-150-years-the-later-years-19552009
ROTHSTEIN, S., 1977
Across the Desk: 100 years of reference encounters. Canadian Library Journal, 34, 391-399. Reprinted in Reference
Librarian 25/26 (1989), 235-251.

the chief point of the reference encounter is not to find the answer but to
identify the question.

Reference: http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/ala.org.rusa/files/content/sections/rss/rsssection/
rsscomm/evaluationofref/refdefbibrev.pdf
JUNE 1977, LIBRARIES MONTCLAIR PUBLIC
BUNGE, C.A., 1980
Reference Service. In ALA World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services (486-474). Chicago: American
Library Association.

Reference service is characterized by a high degree of personal interaction between library staff members and library
users.

Major service aspects:

Information service

Finding needed information for the user

Assisting the user in finding the needed information

Library use instruction- assisting users in learning the skills necessary to finding and using library materials

Guidance-assisting users in choosing the appropriate materials to meet their educational , informational or
recreational needs

Reference: http://www.ala.org/rusa/sites/ala.org.rusa/files/content/sections/rss/rsssection/rsscomm/evaluationofref/
refdefbibrev.pdf
1980, BLACKBURN LIBRARY