Discussion Group on Reference Work Report

Digital reference service at Stockholm University Library

submitted by:
Viveka Vessberg

Libraries on the threshold of 2000 experience changing processes and it is up to the librarians to face the challenges. In all areas of our profession such as acquisition, cataloguing, reference and circulation technology has contributed to dramatic changes.Traditionally libraries have stored information and produced cataloguing systems to make the information accessible to their patrons. It has been their main task and will always be an important part of our profession. Simultaneously the role as a guide and educator in searching catalogues and databases has become more and more important for the librarians. This is the part of our profession that deals with reference service. In its most developed form we talk about education in information literacy.

The reference librarian is an intermediator between the information and the patron. Nowadays we do not only have to cope with the information within our library walls in terms of books, periodicals and databases on CD-ROM or databases licensed according to domain or IP number, but also the information provided free on the Internet. Likewise the reference desk has to be available electronically as well as physically in the library. The patron asking for information might materialize at the information desk, on the phone or hide behind an e-mail address.

Electronic reference service has been around for quite a while, modestly in form of a questionary box on several libraries homepages. The service has functioned as a complement to the ordinary reference service provided in the library at the reference desk and on the phone.

Reference service on the net will however play an important role as more and more people have access to the Internet. It is important to consider the role of the libraries in this process and to look ahead for new exciting possibilities. The reference librarian is and has always been an intermediator between the information and the patron. Up to now electronic reference service has functioned temporarily beside the traditional reference service in the library. It is often carried out by a few enthusiastic librarians who have initiated the service. But this is a service that can be developed further and play an important role in the near future of the library. It is important that the electronic library service will be incorporated in the administration of the libraries organizations, so it will not be dependent on a couple of enthusiastic librarians. Furthermore it is of vital importance that the service is searchable throughout the campus area if it takes place in a university setting. It is not enough to provide access to the Internet within the library but the Internet should be accessible easily on campus.

It is important to work out a policy for the electronic reference service and clearly define what service is going to be provided to the patron. How far do we intend to go in our service? Are we going to give short answers and refer to existing reference sources on the net at the library´s homepage and encourage the patron to visit the library for further help at the reference desk? Or should the libraries offer a more complete service, work out bibliographies on certain topics and e-mail or fax documents to the patron. These questions have been analyzed among others by David Lankes. Lankes goes through different levels in electronic reference service. An interesting function is to provide guides in selfinstruction on how to use the resources in the library and refer the patron to these quides. This would mean to cut back on the service considerably and only answer simple questions on the catalogue. But Lanke also gives examples of a more complete service, where the patron gets as complete answers as possible.

A practical and useful way to start out is to tailor the electronic reference service after the traditional physical one, the one we all know from our reference desks.

At Stockholm university library we have had the service for approximately a year. The service has functioned as a complement to the existing reference service and been carried out by a couple of reference librarians, well skilled in reference work. The service can be reached from the library´s homepage. We have a button "Ask the librarian" . Clicking on the button you reach a form where you fill in your question and your e-mail address . From the form the patron is also introduced to an electronic library shelf, a sort of small reference collection, consisting of free reference works on the Internet. The collection consists of ordinary reference works such as encyclopedias, indexes, dictionaries and text archives, all free and accessible through the net work.

The questions filled in go to a group of reference librarians who work on a weekly basis. As e-mail program we use Microsoft Outlook, which will help us categorize the questions and keep statistics.

During the period July 98 to April 99 we have divided the questions into 3 categories: 1: questions concerning catalogues, 2: questions concerning literature on specific topics, so called subject questions and 3: other questions.

During the period we have had 268 questions on the catalogue. These questions concern specific book and periodical titles, but also databases. The patron wants to know if we or some other libraries in Sweden and elsewhere around the world have the material. These questions are answered in full, we give the location and status of the material requested. At the same time we give information on how to get the answer by using our homepage, where to click for a certain database and how to interpret the information given in different catalogues. There might however turn up cases where we have to ask the patron to come into the library for further research and help on the matter.

During the period we have had 330 questions on specific topics. This is a very broad group with lot of different questions, which we intend to categorize further in the near future. The group includes questions on how to find literature on a specific topic but also encyclopedic questions such as what does the hump of the camel consist of, is Canada larger than the U.S.A. or why does the goddess Ganesha have a mouse running around her feet. These questions are answered partly, except for the encyclopedic questions, where we tend to give the entire answer to the question. Usually we give some examples on books and articles on the desired subject and try to instruct the patron how to do further searching using Internet sources or databases, catalogues and reference works in the library. With difficult and complex questions we always encourage the patron to visit the library if possible for further help and instructions. This category will also include questions on citations, which we always answer in full.

The third category counts 104 questions. These are questions such as on the library´s opening hours, general policy of the library, such as how to get a library card, and how to get licences for different databases provided by the library. These questions are always answered as entirely as possible.

The policy at the electronic reference desk has been and will be to cc. You give as much as is feasible of the answer to the question asked, but you inform the patron how to continue the search using existing reference tools both electronically and on paper. A very simple question can result in elaborate advice on search strategies and how to handle different databases.

Using e-mail it is however not so easy to instruct the patron. While informing on reference tools suited to answer the actual question you miss the entire reference interview and cannot adapt to the user as readily as at the reference desk in the library where you face the user. The reference librarian cannot develop his specific talent in interviewing the user to find the best answer to the question. Thus the answers tend to become more standardized. Many times we ask the patron to clarify the question or to come into the library for further help and searching.

At Stockholm university library we do not as yet have a formalized policy. We lean back on the policy we have had at the information desk in the library. One important rule however is to get to the user as fast as possible and give the answer at the latest the next working day. In the future we plan to offer more complete service if requested available to a certain cost.

As far as the users to this electronic reference service they do not as yet differ much from the ones we have at the reference desk in the library. About 75 % are students at the library. They pose questions about specific book and periodical titles and also questions on specific topics. A very small part of the teachers use this service. The rest, 25 % are highschool students (an increasing group), students and researchers from abroad. An increasing group are patrons not associated with any university or school. This is a group that would ordinarily use the public library for their information needs.

During the period we have had 63 questions from abroad. The statistics are still so small that one cannot distinguish what questions are predominant, only that we have got quite a few on demographic databases, presumably from people in the states searching their European roots.

As mentioned earlier, we have an electronic reference shelf with free web-links on the net. The purpose of these http addresses is to give examples of free Internet resources. This web page is constantly reviewed and updated. One of the reference librarians has the main responsibility to work with this page. The addresses are supposed to be the best on the net and the policy is to provide information on the content for each address included.

References:

Lankes, David R., "AskA's. Lesson Learned from k-12 Digital Reference Services" Reference & User Services Quarterly 38 (1): 63-71

Sloan, Bernie, "Electronic Reference Services. Some Suggested Guidelines" Reference & User Services Quarterly 38 (1):77-81