Types of Reference Service Questions

1. Directional Questions

 Simple "where" questions"

 Graphical knowledge of location
 Use appropriate body language
 Give explicit direction
 Avoid jargons
 Check to make sure you were understood
2. Ready Reference

 Questions wherein you'll need a 'ready reference' source to answer such as an

Encyclopedia, Compendiums's , and search engines
 Can be answered by simple sentences
 Trivia / Factual Questions
3. Specific search

 Document searching and retrieval to give the best document or resource for client
 Sometimes entails bibliographic inquiry (Ex: Searching other materials)
4. [In-depth] Research

 Look for research materials that discuss the concept needed by client
 Synthesize the research materials needed by client
 Often done by adult scholars seeking supplementary knowledge on their field.
Schlachter, 1982 [Reference Services]

1. Information
 Giving the right material needed
2. Instruction
 Anything that involves teaching
3. Guidance
 Helping them find the right material and Interpreting the Material
 One step further: Bibliotherapy
4. Stimulation
 Marketing of Reference Services or Reference Marketing
Reference Service

- Organized services to serve the library users in finding information and the personal
assistance offered to them

Alice Bertha Kroeger (1902 and 1908)

- From the assistance given to reader in the use of the resources of the library to
expanding the responsibility of the reference librarian to include guiding readers to
information **and reference service as an activity not limited to librarianship**

William Learned (1924)

- *Specialized* intelligence service, with each person having his or her unique information
needs

Nature of Information Needs

- As the size of the service community increases, the degree of divergence in individual
information needs increases.

- It will never be possible to completely satisfy all of the information needs of any
clientele or class of clientele in the service community (Evans, 2005): "Best reading to the
most people, at the least cost"

James Wyer (1930)

-Introduced 'reference transaction'; Interactions between the ff:

- Inquirer

- Reference Librarian

- Source of materials

Gilbert Mudge & Louis Shores (1930s)

- Everything necessary to help the reader in his inquiry; including selection, arrangement,
maintenance, staff supervision, along with constant work in answering individual questions

- Interpreting books to readers, along with answering questions, locating materials,

performing research, providing instruction, and advising readers
S.R. Ranganathan (1940)

- Reference is most important service

- The process of establishing contact between a reader and his documents in a personal
way
-Of paramount importance in the service being of a personal nature with classification of
materials and the maintenance of a collection as preparatory tasks, and ongoing
professional development as the last step
ALA Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) 2000

- Information services in libraries take a variety of forms including direct personal

assistance, directories, signs, exchange of information culled from a reference source,
reader's advisory service, dissemination of information in anticipation of user needs or
interests, and access to electronic information

___________________________________________________________________

Digital Reference

- Provision of direct, professional assistance to people who are seeking info at a time and
point of need

Two Types"

1. Synchronous (without delay)

2. Asynchronous (with delay)

Reference Librarian:

- A librarian who works in public services, answering questions posed by library patrons at
a reference desk, by telephone, or via e-mail

- A Librarian who's able to provide point-of-use instruction on the use of library resources
and information technology

A Reference Librarian Should Have:

- A service-oriented perspective

- The responsibility of selecting and organizing collections to maximize effectiveness

- Strong knowledge of subjects and the principles of practices of fields

- A commitment to either answering the question or referring to a source that can answer
for what client is asking for

Reference Process

- Process of answering questions "reference questions"

- Process of satisfying specific and recurrent information needs

- Librarian's role is to link the user with the information that they need

Types of Users

1. Researchers
- Ask the most complex kinds of questions
- Complex kinds of questions = Research Questions
2. Those who seek Specific Answers
- Readily answered by Ready Reference Sources
3. Those with undifferentiated need for information
- No specific topic or question
4. Those with lack of interest for anything
- No current information need
-
Types of Information Retrieval

1. Document Retrieval

- Specific Search and Research

2. Data Retrieval

- Directional Query and Ready Reference

SEARCHING

Search Strategy

- Unique as to how much you know about what you're searching

- Conscious approach to decision making in order to achieve certain specified objectives
Types of Search Strategy

1. Specific-to-General

- Also known as citation pearl growing

2. General-to-Specific

- Done by scanning a thesaurus or list of subject headings

Ways of searching the catalog

1. Natural language or free text searching

- Searching using the words used by the author / used in the work
- Ex: Client said they want to search for "pusa" so you only use "pusa" as keyword in
searching
2. Controlled Vocabulary

- Using authorized terms of phrases. reflective of the material's content as search terms,
or the thesauri or subject heading list is searched first
- Ex: Client said they want to search for "pusa", you use other terms like cat, feline, felis
catus.
3. Database and Internet Searching

- Boolean Searching
+ "AND', "OR", "NOT" operators
- Search Engine
+ Mechanism by which resources on the net can be found via keyword searches
- Search or Web directories
+ Human modified.........

Steps in Finding the Answer

1. Strategizing a Search

2. Visualizing an Answer

3. Testing the Waters

Types of Answers

4. Elementary

5. Skilled

6. Value-Added

Common Pitfalls in Reference Answering

7. Wrong Information

8. Inappropriate Information

9. Avoidance

10. Poor knowledge of Resources

11. Lack of Follow Up

12. Inadequate Search Skills