1. What Are Information Services?
Defining Reference Service in School Libraries
2013

2. 2
What are information
services?
And what do they have
to do with schools and
libraries?

3. 3
Information Services:
a working definition
 For the purposes of this class,
we can define information
services as any service intended
to provide information for a
client or user, or assist a client or
user in finding or searching for
information

4. 4
Libraries have traditionally
provided reference services
 reference services
• All the functions performed by a trained
librarian employed in the reference section of a
library to meet the information needs of
patrons (in person, by telephone, or
electronically), including but not limited to
answering substantive questions, instructing
users in the selection and use of appropriate
tools and techniques for finding
information, conducting searches on behalf of
the patron, directing users to the location of
library resources, assisting in the evaluation of
information, referring patrons to resources
outside the library when appropriate, keeping
reference statistics, and participating in the
development of the reference collection.

5. 5
What Is Reference?
 Why Is It Important?
• The goal of reference work is to
meet people’s information needs.
• Reference work includes finding
out what information people need
and using library resources to
provide that information.
• http://www.olc.org/Ore/1what.htm

6. 6
Important reminder
 Reference work is about people
• those who need information and
those who provide it. Reference
service is providing information to
meet the needs of the individual
library users in your community.
• Module 1 - People

7. 7
What is the reference process?
 The reference process includes the
following:
1. Encouraging the patron to contact the
library when there is an information
need.
2. Finding out what the real information
need is.
3. Finding the information that will meet
the need.
4. Making sure the patron’s need really
has been met.

8. 8
Reference questions
 What is a reference question?
• A reference question is a question
that involves the
knowledge, use, recommendations, i
nterpretation, or instruction in the
use of one or more information
sources by a member of the library
staff.
• Library » CPLA Reference & Resource
Center » Frequently Asked Questions »
Reference

9. 9
Then, there’s the reference interview
 Reference interview?
• In the reference process, knowing how
to get the question is a critical step
toward finding the right answer.
Determining the real question is
accomplished through the reference
interview. The reference interview is a
discussion between you and your
patron. It involves asking the right
questions and listening carefully to the
answers.
• Houston Area Library System HALS
Reference123 Module 2..Questions
The Reference Interview

10. 10
Thought-provoking
 According to Robert Taylor, the
reference interview is
• “one of the most complex acts of
human communication,” for in this
act “one person tries to describe for
another person not something he
knows, but rather something he
does not know.”
• “Question Negotiation and Information
Seeking in Libraries,” College and Research
Libraries 29 (May 1968): 180. Quoted in
Tibbo, Helen. “Learning to Love Our Users:
A Challenge to the Profession and a Model
for Practice.” 2002. Online at
http://www.ils.unc.edu/tibbo/MAC Spring
2002.pdf

11. 11
Communication with a Purpose
 The reference librarian “is involved in
diagnostic and prescriptive activity.”
• “what people ask for [want] is
often not what they really need.
Thus, it is important to have the
diagnostic session so that the client
will be given the right information
and will be successful.”
• Robinson, William C. (2000). “The
Reference Interview.” Course material from
the University of Tennessee—Knoxville
apparently no longer available online

12. 12
Basic Considerations
1. The student may not know what to
expect.
2. The “average” student may have no
preknowledge of the type of resource(s)
that will answer his or her question.
3. The student’s communication skills
may not be as refined as yours.
4. The student may not know the
terminology (library lingo) used in the
reference interview.
• Riedling, Ann Marlow. “Great Ideas for Improving Reference
Interviews.” Book Report. 19.3 (Nov/Dec2000): 28-29.
Ann Riedling

13. 13
Considerations, cont.
5. The student may lack knowledge about
the subject, the assignment, or the usage
policies of the SLMC.
6. The student may misinterpret your
nonverbal or verbal cues.
7. The student may be fearful of you or
frustrated about the question being
raised.
8. Communications may become
miscommunications when a student is
unable to verbalize his or her information
need.
• Riedling, “Great Ideas.”

14. 14
Miscommunication happens!
 Examples:
• Patron asks for information on
“career.” Turned out he meant
“Korea.”
• After showing the patron several book
about Buddhism, I realized that was
not what he meant when he asked for
information on Nirvana.
• the Hawaiian volcano, Killer Whale
• Miscommunications in Libraries. Now an
archived site.
• See also Weird library reference questions
and Funny Requests from patrons

15.  Deep Reference Question
• Yes, an actual question:
If I ate only Cheetos, would I turn
orange?
• See all the posts labeled “Reference” made by
The Liberry aka Amy or Marian The at
http://lovetheliberry.blogspot.com/search/label/
reference
15

16. 16
Types of problems
 Reference librarians are used to dealing with
situations like these:
• Homophones, a word the librarian interprets
with one meaning while the user means the other:
e.g., Wales/Whales; China/china.
• User misunderstands and, in turn, conveys this
misunderstanding to the librarian: i.e., “I need
the book Catch Her in the Eye” (Catcher in the
Rye)
• User understands the concept but does not use
the correct terms: i.e., I need the book, “Battle
of the Planets” - (War of the Worlds)
• Gale/ALISE Bibliographic Instruction Support
Program. Instructional Module 2: Importance of the
Reference Interview . No longer available online.

17. “Oranges and Peaches”:
A Classic Article
 Understanding Communication Accidents in the
Reference Interview
• In the reference transaction, the librarian
must have a clear, complete understanding
of the user’s information need before a
satisfactory answer can be given. Often the
question must be negotiated through a
reference interview, where the librarian will
attempt to clarify, expand, and perhaps
repair the query as it is initially presented
by the user.
17

18. 18
Structure of the Interview
 ORE Skills and steps in the reference
interview:
• Paraphrasing
• Asking open questions
• Clarifying
• Verifying
• Getting all the needed information (the
6 pieces of evidence)
• Following up
• Ending the interview
• Reference Interview Module 2
http://www.olc.org/Ore/2interview.htm

19. 19
Questioning Techniques
 Types of questions:
• Open
• Clarifying
• Paraphrasing
• Verifying
• Neutral
• “Why”
• Closed

20. 20
What are neutral questions?
 Neutral questions
• “Neutral questions are open in
form, avoid premature diagnosis of the
problem, and structure the interview
along dimensions universally important
to users -- their gaps, their
situations, the bridges they wish to
construct, and the outcomes they wish
to achieve.”
• Dervin, B., & Dewdney, P. (1986). Neutral
questioning: A new approach to the reference
interview. RQ, 25 (4): 506-513. Abstract online at
https://faculty.washington.edu/jwj/lis521/zennezdervinde
wd86nq-1.pdf

21. 21
Uses of Neutral Questions
 Used to discover the user’s
motivation and objectives without
asking “why” questions
• What would you like to know about X?
• How do you plan to use this information?
• How would this information help you?
• Freund, L. “Question Negotiation in
Online Searching.” Powerpoint
presentation. Online at
http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/FIS/Courses/LIS1325
/QuestionNego.pdf

22. 22
Evidence Needed
 What do you want to end up with at the
conclusion of the interview?
• Purpose
• Deadline
• Type and Amount
• Who
• Where
• The Basic Question
• 6 Pieces of Evidence. Houston Area Library System
Reference Training Module 2. Online at
http://www.hals.lib.tx.us/ref123/2evidence.htm

23. 23
Ending the Interview
 Close
• Check if the question has been or
can be answered with the material
at hand.
• Check to see if the person is
satisfied at the moment.
• Expressly offer additional help as
needed.
• Withdraw cordially.
• “The Reference Interview: A Common-Sense Review.”
Available online at
http://infopeople.org/sites/all/files/past/2004/reference/ASCL
AALAref_interview.pdf

24. 24
Reference in the School Library
 Types of interviews
• Ready reference interviews
• Include questions that can be answered
with short factual information
• Research project interviews
• Involve in-depth coverage of a
topic, often requiring the use of multiple
sources
• Readers’ advisory interviews
• Recommending good leisure reading
• Ann Riedling, Reference Skills for the School
Library Media Specialist, 2nd ed.

25. 25
Face-to-face Reference
• Part of the joy of the reference
interview is its tangible, tactile
nature and the slow buildup as
you gather enough information
to begin the search process. You
listen, question, and listen
again; you pick up cues from
gestures and facial expressions.
• Schneider, Karen G. “Internet Librarian: In Your
Dreams: A Y2K Fantasy.” American Libraries
December 1999. Online at
http://archive.ala.org/alonline/netlib/il1299.html

26. 26
Email Reference
http://www.unc.edu/~jenmc/inls102/virtualreference/email.htm

27. 27
Digital Reference
 What is Digital Reference?
• Digital reference services, also
called “Ask-An-Expert” (or
“AskA”) services, are Internet-
based question and answer services
that connect users [frequently
members of the K-12 education
community] with individuals who
possess specialized subject or skill
expertise.
• http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/askalg.html

28. What about virtual reference?
 What is Virtual Reference?
• Virtual reference is the provision of library
reference services through digital or
electronic information technology. In the
case of Ask A Question (AAQ), it means
that individuals are able to ask for and
receive reference assistance at any time
using any computer with Internet access,
whether they are at home, at work, in the
library or elsewhere.
28

29. 29
Digital (or Virtual) Reference in
School Libraries?

30. Important question
Regardless of how the service is
provided, virtually or in person, does it
have to be a certified school librarian
who provides the service?
• Are School Librarians Expendable?
• “School librarians are on the chopping block
as states and cities seek to cut their education
budgets. . . . Do superintendents and
principals see librarians as more expendable
than other school employees? If so, why?”
• New York Times
Updated June 27, 2011 03:46 PM
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31. A recent resolution
 ALA Resolution that School Libraries and
Librarians are Critical to Educational Success
• Whereas school librarians help students acquire
unique skills not taught in the classroom and
information and technology skills essential for
students in the 21st century;
• Whereas there has been research conducted in
22 states and a Canadian Province that
provides significant evidence indicating the
value added to student’s academic development
by the presence of a strong school library
program led by a credentialed librarian;
•
31

32. More from the resolution
• Whereas the most universal finding is that the
presence of full-time, credentialed school
librarians and appropriate support staff who
implement a quality, school integrated program
of library services is directly related to these
student educational gains;
• Whereas quality school library programs
staffed by credential school librarians prepare
students to have the 21st Century skills they
need to succeed in college and careers. They are
particularly critical to help close the
achievement gap of students who come from
economically disadvantage backgrounds.
• ALA Resolution that School Libraries and Librarians are
Critical to Educational Success
32

33. Resolution’s resolution?
33
http://www.aasl.ala.org/aaslblog/?p=2973

34. Task Force Report January 2013
34
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/sites/ala.org.aboutala/files/co
ntent/governance/officers/eb_documents/2012_2013ebdoc
uments/ebd10_5_school_library_tf_mw13.pdf