Reference Work Discussion Group (102)

Building a Cheshire Cat: Physical Space for Virtual Needs

Paper

Regardless of the library administration's current encouragement for staff to rove around the reference area to proactively seek out people who need help and regardless of the acknowledgement of the growing number of reference email questions answered "behind the scenes," the need for a physical reference desk was never far from anyone's planning. The image of "The Desk" would fade in and out of our discussions about what are the service goals that the new space should support. The reference staff had by no means come to agreement with the recent claims of Martell that "Librarians can perform some of their responsibilities in a nonphysical, invisible environment. Eventually, librarians will perform most of their responsibilities in this new virtual space--cyberspace."¹ And they are quite sure that they do not support Heckart in his assertion that "a sophisticated machine of the future might do a better job with simple and mildly complex queries than humans."²

But what can we do now that moves us toward space design for reference services of the future? Perhaps some of the following suggestions will generate new ideas that move us further toward designing physical space that actively supports our service goals and ideals for the virtual world that we all acknowledge is approaching. As Baker notes "when many library services are changing, one of the most important ways we show who we are is through the environments we create."³

One trend that I see affecting physical space in reference is the "disembodiment" of the ready reference collection. As these high-use materials are available digitally, the need for under the desk, or behind the desk, or low, nearby shelving for almanacs, dictionaries, etc. is no longer as necessary as it once was. I see this trend as one of democratizing access to materials that formerly had specially protected status as "reference materials." Setting them aside on a shelf that was not integrated with the rest of the collection has probably "protected" them from being found by a number of users who were confused by the odd location. Reference services don't need to be anchored by a physical collection any longer.

The disembodiment of the reference collection is symptomatic of a more general trend toward freeing service from the limitation of seeming to occur in only one specific physical space. Nomadic computing devices are going to allow users and staff alike to query the database and services in a ongoing dynamic research mode. As ubiquitous as computers are now, no longer will use of the OPAC be tied even to the terminals beside the reference desk or tied to hard wires at certain points throughout the library building, the technology learning center, or a desk in a dorm. Users won't be as predictable in their physical approach to the research process; users will no longer need to boomerang back to a fixed point when they need to query the OPAC for new citation leads or new full-text resources. They will be able to deliver resources to themselves while sitting on the beach or driving home.

I believe that this environment will intensify and speed the trend we already see toward lack of interest in use of print collection for large numbers of our users. And I wonder if it means that reference staff tasks will become more integrated with document delivery services. This may mean that Ariel workstations and other scanning/delivery mechanisms will become part of our backroom/staff area.

The backroom will also house video-based reference services. I believe that the privacy required for video reference interactions will lead to a new set of offices that provide high-tech consultation rooms behind-the-scenes. It may lead to a new popularity for the construction of individual staff offices with actual walls rather than shoulder-height partitions. The need for real offices may be offset by reference librarians who work from home and don't come to a campus facility at all. But I believe that physical visibility on campus is so politically important for librarians who (hopefully) are deeply engaged with their colleagues in computing services and on the faculty that working totally from home won't really be a wide-spread trend. We will still have reference staff who work primarily from office space inside the library.

At Iowa reference staff are the primary providers of library instruction. With nomadic computing, staff will be able to provide user instruction on demand in many more venues. The "disembodiment" of user education may be one of the greatest boons to the library's role in the educational enterprise. On demand instruction will be available without having to book a special classroom in advance. It can happen where the learning is occurring and become integrated into "teachable moments" more easily. I foresee a lessening of interest in the installation of fixed electronic classrooms for library instruction and see an increase of interest in building libraries, even campuses, equipped for ubiquitous and spontaneous computing.

In an environment that fully supports nomadic devices, reference staff will more readily get out from behind The Desk and rove throughout the odd corners of the library to be available to users who need help. They will have more opportunities to take nomadic computing devices with them and help people on the spot or take advantage of a "teachable moment" rather than requiring users to trek back to a desk that is often on another floor. If desks or counters are built at all they will be built with multiple avenues of access to facilitate active staff who spend less time standing in one spot waiting for the "just in case" client.

In 1988, Pat Molholt published an excellent article in Library Journal entitled, "Libraries and the New Technologies: Courting the Cheshire Cat." Besides providing me with a title for this discussion, she provided an image of the physical environment in which she envisioned that reference could soon take place. She stated that "reference desks may resemble shopping mall service counters staffed with knowledgeable individuals to help the user decide whether they want or need the expensive designer-label information, analyzed and packaged ready to use, or the hardware store version where they buy the pieces and put it together themselves."⁴

Her vision was predicated on the assumption that reference librarians will continue to be the staff who respond to individual needs and preferences in information consumption. I agree with that. But I think she did not foresee that one primary disembodiment in a library would be that of the reference desk itself - even she was not able to discard that icon! With changes in services and computing that reflect deep changes in the way librarians interact with users I believe that the only remnant of the reference desk will soon be "the smile." We will create an environment that reflects an ideal of ubiquity, pro-activity, spontaneity, and flexibility. And that, in Bakers' words, will show people who we really are.

Notes

1. Martell, Charles. "The Disembodied Librarian in the Digital Age, Part II, " College & Research Libraries 61(2):99-113 (March 2000)
2. Heckart, Ronald. "Machine Help and Human Help in the Emerging Digital Library," College & Research Libraries 59(3):250-258 (May 1998)
3. Baker, Betsy. "Can Library Service Survive in a Sea of Change?" American Libraries 31(4):47-49 (April 2000)
4. Molholt, Pat. "Libraries and the New Technologies: Courting the Cheshire Cat," Library Journal 113(19):37-41 (November 15, 1988)