Library Research Service

29 January 2009

Reference Service - Where is it Going? Survey Results

In December 2008, we launched the 60-second survey, "Reference Service - Where is it Going?" The survey was prompted by a discussion on a listserv for librarians working on virtual reference desks around the country. (Thanks Kris Johnson for the tip!)

Clearly a hot topic, we received 1,500 responses from library staff and others reading library blogs, listservs, etc.

Not surprisingly, respondents indicated that reference services are important to both the public and the library itself.

(Click on a chart for a larger, more detailed image.)

When asked "how great is the need for librarian-assisted search services in today’s information environment," nearly everyone (99%) said it was needed or greatly needed.

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Similarly, respondents thought reference was vital to the library as an institution. 98% of respondents indicated important or very important when asked "how critical are reference services to the survival of libraries?"

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Respondents widely believed that virtual reference will play a big part in the future of library services. Asked "do you think virtual reference services are the future of library reference" nearly 9 out of 10 respondents said "yes." However, most did not believe it would replace in-person reference.

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In spite of its importance, respondents felt reference was not promoted adequately. 9 out of 10 indicated "the library profession should do more to promote reference services."

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Recently there has been discussion among librarians about establishing a national effort to promote reference services at libraries. For example, an "ASK" campaign that would be similar to ALA's "Read" campaign. The majority of respondents (83%) thought "a professional organization should launch a national campaign promoting reference services at libraries."

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More detail about the results of this 60-second survey will be published in an upcoming edition of Fast Facts. Let us know what you think about reference services in libraries by leaving a comment below.

-Zeth & Nicolle

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Comments

Ask some non-librarians and see what they say - or even if they know what reference services are. If not, and we want to promote, we better be prepared in as few words as possible to say what we mean by reference.

posted by

I only hope that Library Admins (most of whom are librarians) believe the same.

At the Univ. where I work more than 80% of the time the ref desk is staffed with non-professionals and with budget cuts there is talk of removing MLSs from the desk altogether. Some library Admins seem to believe that anyone with a week or two of training can do reference.

Let us not forget that librarians need to remind those former librarians who are now administrators with an MLS what our profession is and the value it has to Univ., Municipality, or whomever your library serves.

posted by notm yname

Of course, people trained as librarians believe reference is crucial--both to the library and to its users. I second the motion to ask non-librarians. I'm sure the answers wouldn't be as comforting, for two reasons: (1) librarians aren't marketing personalities and (2) it only takes one or two bad experiences with reference staff who aren't up to snuff to convince a user to go to Google.

posted by avoidance of conflict

Just what everyone else is saying- you asked the wrong audience. Of course we believe in what we do. Does anyone else?

posted by Barb

Admittedly, the survey doesn't gauge the feelings, perceptions, or knowledge of the general public about reference services in libraries. But, it wasn't really intended to do that.

The survey was done in response to a discussion on the listserv Dig_Ref. The purpose of the survey was to see if librarians thought reference was valuable to users and to the library's survival. If so, did they think reference services needed to be promoted more and would they support a national library organization taking on such a mission. For example, ALA creating and promoting an "ASK" campaign similar to their current "READ" campaign.

Are the results of the survey a shock? No. But, the near unanimity of responses to the first two questions says something. First, some libraries are de-professionalizing many aspects of reference services, yet 99% of our respondents said that librarian-assisted search is needed in today's information environment. Second, 98% of respondents said they thought that reference services were important to the survival of libraries.

Regarding the question that inspired the survey--should libraries do more to promote reference service--overwhelmingly, respondents said "yes." Think about other services provided by your library. Would they all garner such support?

The intention of the 60-second survey series is to take the temperature on any given "hot" topic in the library profession. It's really about furthering an ongoing conversation. We too would love to know what the public thinks about this, and wish we had the resources to conduct an in-depth market research survey.

Let us add, we're thrilled that this survey and the results have stimulated so much conversation. Colleagues have stopped us in the halls to talk about it, we've received emails, and there have been multiple comments on our blog.

So back to the question that inspired it all, do we need a national "ASK" campaign?

posted by Nicolle & Zeth

I think this also serves as an indicator of reference librarians' frustation that our services are under-represented in library marketing, both locally and nationally. The fact that we "know" that asking a different population would lead to lower numbers just highlights that. The fact is that this needed to be said and that this survey was a good forum for that. If we commit to marketing, then getting public and non-librarian opinions is going to be important because we'd need a benchmark, a "reality check" of just how badly our "brand" is faring. Right now, we're still like that inventor in the garage with that cool thing that he just KNOWS everyone needs, even if THEY don't know it yet. Except that we've had it in the garage for over 100 years.

posted by Bill Pardue

Yes we need a national ASK campaign. Yes we need to be promoting Reference locally. Yes we need to be promoting our services digitally - going viral anyone? Yes if we ask our patrons we would get a different reponse - but that response would depend in large part on which patrons we asked.

posted by Heather

Good points. Would you let a dental assistant do a root canal operation on you? Yet library assistants and general public don't understand the complexities, knowledge and skills required by good reference librarians. Old fashioned values like good customer service still work and give users a more human experience than using most web 2.0 technologies. Vague or apathetic responses from Reference libraries using instant messenger services is still bad reference work, even if dressed up in trendy web 2.0 veneers. A good reference librarian is a trained professional, whether its over the counter contact or via a newer technology.

posted by Cameron

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