Reference Services

INTRODUCTION

            Reference services concept has become common among American librarians since 1876. Reference services theories appeared in 20th Century. Reference service is one of the library’s primary functions besides acquisition, classification, cataloguing and physical planning. In the traditional sense, the term reference services or sometimes referred to as reference and information services can be defined as personal assistance which is provided by trained personnel to library users seeking information.

            Academic libraries are trying to meet the needs of the academic and research community by providing as well as improving their services and enhancing their resources. A successful strategy to enhance exploitation of resources is to ensure users’ satisfaction through an efficient and effective reference service. Information to be provided to the right person with speed and accuracy at the right time to satisfy its user is the motto of each and every library or information centre.

            Librarians can use several strategies to best help patrons with their questions. The key element is to know what the patron wants, which can be more difficult than it sounds; the second element is to know what resources the library has and how to use them. Learning how to use the library's resources, and which other resources might be available is very important.

REFERENCE SERVICE: IT’S GENESIS AND MEANING

            Reference service, as a distinct function of the library, began in the late nineteenth century, largely in response to the growing prevalence of publicly funded libraries (both public and academic) seeking to serve relatively inexperienced and unskilled readers and scholars. There was only one problem – they did not know how to use the library. Thus reference service was developed to solve that problem.

            The beginning of reference service is generally attributed to Samuel Swett Green, who in 1876 published the first article on helping patrons use the library. While it is doubtful that Green actually invented the idea of reference service for library users, he was the first to speak publicly about the concept and was the first to discuss it in writing. In both his speech to the first meeting of the American Library Association and his Library Journal article, Green discussed the need for librarians actively to assist members of their communities in using library resources. While the term reference did not evolve until several decades later,7 the publication of Green’s article helped to popularize the new concept of reference service. That patrons appreciated such service is evident from the fact that virtually all-modern libraries still offer some version of ‘personal relations between librarians and readers.’

According to the ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 2 ‘Reference Service is that phase of library work which is directly concerned with assistance to readers in securing information and in using resources of the library in study and research’.

Ranganathan defines Reference Service as ‘Personal Service to each reader in helping him to find the documents answering his interest at the moment pinpointedly, exhaustively and expeditiously.’

Both definitions convey that reference service means ‘process of establishing contact between a reader and his documents in a personal way’. His ‘documents’ refer to those who will serve his requirements precisely. With the technological advancements, users’ information seeking behavior has undergone a lot of change.

            Samuel Swett Green better known as the father of Reference Services laid down four functions for Reference Librarian, as:

* Instructs patrons how to use the library

* Answers patron queries

*Aids the patron in selecting resources, and

*Promotes the library within the community

*Even today these four functions remain the core of reference service.

The notion that the reference librarian is an important part of the research process is not a new one, nor is it confined to the United States. Massachusetts librarian Samuel Swett Green (1876) spoke of "Personal Relations Between Librarians and Readers" back in 1876, suggesting that librarians "mingle freely with users, and help them in every way."

Green offers several ways to improve "personal intercourse and relations between librarian and readers" such as enthusiasm (what RUSA terms "interest"); he recommends that librarians "[g]ive [inquirers] as much assistance as they need, but try at the same time to teach them to rely upon themselves and become independent." This is consistent with RUSA's fourth guideline, where librarians begin the search and teach the patron to use valuable resources.

THEORIES AND MODELS OF REFERENCE SERVICES

JAMES  WYER (1930)

In 1930, James Wyer stated three types of Reference Services Theories such as:

1. Conservative Theory: Conservative Theory persists on education and guidance instead of boundless help. This theory states that reference work is limited to use the ready reference sources

to help the users.

2. Liberal Theory: Liberal Theory focuses on the maximum help. According to this theory Reference

Librarians must apply any approaches to retrieve the information that users need.

3. Moderate Theory: The average of Conservative Theory and Liberal Theory is Moderate Theory

which most of Reference Librarians prefer.

DR. S. R. RANGANATHAN

S. R. Ranganathan (1931), the "father" of librarianship in India, outline the Five Laws of Library Science :

1. Books are for use.
2. Every person his or her book.
3. Every book its reader.
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. The library is a growing organism.

All of Ranganathan's laws are relevant to the reference service, and Law Four is most applicable to the reference interview. The truth of his Laws is especially striking if we substitute "library resources" for "books." Library resources are to be used; we purchase, catalog, and link to our materials so that patrons will use them. There is a resource for every patron, and every resource has a patron who needs it. Frequently the process of finding material is so complex that finding resources to be used - Law Two - is very difficult. This is where reference librarians become important: we closely follow Law Four by saving time of the reader. Patrons often come to the reference desk and say, "I've looked everywhere but can't find what I need!" Generally, they have spent quite a bit of time looking "everywhere," and when we show them the most relevant resource for their research, we can often save them time and teach them to be more efficient searchers.

Finally, Ranganathan argued that the library is a growing, changing organism; he wrote these laws 76 years ago, but Law 5 is clearly still true with the advent of the Internet, digital collections, and electronic mail. The reference librarian's role is as important as ever with the proliferation of these digital resources; we must hone our reference interview skills to both save the time of the reader and provide her or him with the most appropriate resources.

KULTHAN

            Kuhlthan who identifies five levels of services:

Level 1 – Librarian / library is the organizer of the material.

Level 2 – Librarian is the locator or ready reference

Level 3 – Librarian is the identifier, helps user identify tools for the information need.

Level 4 – Librarian is the advisor.

Level 5 – Librarian is the counsellor.

These five levels of service remain valid, even as users have less contact with traditional library support. This study as stated above by various examples shows that users ask similar questions whether in person or via an e-mail reference service.

SAXTON AND RICHARDSON (2002)

            Saxton and Richardson (2002) developed the most comprehensive model of reference service for their multilevel analysis. Their model is based on the following independent predictors: 6

-        Query (difficulty, currency),

-       User (library usage, reference service usage, and educational level), service behavior exhibited by the librarian (readiness, interest, understanding, and verification),

-        Librarian (experience, education level),

-        Library (collection size, service level, service policy); and on the

-Following dependent outcomes:

– Utility (usefulness, completeness),

– User satisfaction, and

– Accuracy.

CONCLUSION

            Success of a theory depends on knowledge of the community that a library serves. Library staff that understands its users and their needs will develop a service model that best fits to those needs. Models that work well in one library will not necessarily be good in another.

            All theories and contributions given by scholars if well followed are capable of producing results despite the challenges that might the encountered during its use.