Two research questions guided this study: (1) Is there a gap in customer service quality perception between librarians (service providers) and patrons (service beneficiaries)?; and (2) How do patrons perceive the relational service qualities of librarians who staff the reference desk? Quantitative results based on a Likert scale survey showed no…

This study explores the idea of creating a knowledge base from shared online accounts to use in training librarians who perform distance reference services. Through a survey, follow-up interviews and a case study, the investigators explored current and potential use of shared online accounts as training tools. This study revealed that the…

There has been longstanding debate about whether the level of complexity of questions received at reference desks and via online chat services requires a librarian's expertise. Continued decreases in the number and complexity of reference questions have all but ended the debate; many academic libraries no longer staff service points with…

Librarians seek opportunities to improve outreach to faculty and promote shared interests in information literacy. A comprehensive review of syllabi for all undergraduate courses offered during one academic term examined course-level learning outcomes and graded assignments to see how well they aligned with the five Association of College and…

Librarians who staff the reference desk at a community college are familiar with the moments when multiple patrons need assistance concurrently. Their needs can vary from technical issues to directional questions, such as the location of the restroom, to deeper reference questions that require the librarian's time and focused attention to conduct…

Situations arise almost every day of a reference librarian's working life in which a student (or a professor, a colleague, or a person off the street) asks a straightforward question that the librarian recognizes in a specific way. On the other hand, there are specific questions that come up fairly often and routinely lead to further queries. What…

What is the future direction of reference books? What types of policies are libraries implementing regarding the purchase of electronic reference books? Are libraries still buying hard copy reference items when an electronic equivalent is available? This paper discusses a national survey of libraries regarding the purchase and use of electronic…

A survey of community college librarians in California reveals that the nature of reference service required of them, limitations on budget, staffing, technical support, resources, decision-making ability, and professional development opportunities, affect their professional attitudes. Librarians see reference service as primarily a teaching role.…

Few standards for reference services have appeared in the past, therefore guidelines for reference librarians at the University of Michigan--Dearborn library are offered. The guidelines presented are based upon reference standards prepared by the Reference and Adult Services Division (RASD) Standards Committee for the ALA Centennial Conference in…

Twenty-five sets of "indirect" and "faculty information" questions were asked at two university library reference centers, one staffed by nonprofessionals and the other by professionals. The purpose was to determine relative success of professional and nonprofessional reference staff in (1) probing beyond "indirect" questions and (2) detecting and…

The floating librarian'' is one who interprets and adjusts the formal library structure to meet legitimate needs. This is one of the ways the academic reference librarian can gain greater acceptance with students and faculty. (9 references) (Author/NH)

The plan proposed in this paper may offer the best means of convincing students that the field of librarianship affords them the creative challenge of dealing with the information explosion and an opportunity to serve with a community of scholars as a subject expert. (2 references) (Author/NH)

The primary hypothesis for this study was that an upper-level college student could perform competent reference work in an undergraduate library staffed by one full-time reference librarian after a relatively brief orientation. (Author/NH)

An annotated bibliography of biographical sources in the reference collection at the State University of New York at Albany University Libraries is presented. Biographical reference works are listed under the headings: International; United States; Foreign Countries By Country; Special and Professional Groups; Artists By Country and Continent;…

This study analyzes statistics of 17 public services units of the University of Colorado at Boulder libraries, measuring frequency of question-asking, types of questions and staff responsibility. The study seeks to determine fluctuations of reference service workloads over time, department staffing and training needs, and to provide supervisors…