Discussion Group on Reference Work Report

The New Definition of Reference Work in the Changing Reference Culture: The Public Libraries in Denmark

Submitted by:
Bodil Wöhnert

Due to the efforts of coping with unemployment by education and re-education at all levels in the Danish society the demands to the public library system have been growing rapidly during the last decade.

New user groups came to the libraries, and many public libraries, especially in the bigger communities, found it necessary to re-organize the daily work in order to give access and service to new as well as "old" user groups. The experience in the libraries is that still more users are demanding information according to their educational level - and at the same time there are less resources to match this demand.

During the last few years IT has become a tool in most public libraries - not only for bibliographical search and interlending operations - but also for information and reference work.

Today all Danish libraries - head or branch; public or scientific - have the same possibilities, when it comes to IT, information brooking and reference work.

Users can expect the same service no matter which library they go to.

The problem is that many librarians - especially in small libraries - are still not sufficiently trained to use these new possibilities.

According to changing demands from the users - and of course to the general relief that technology and bibliographic databases have meant to the interlending work - you will find that reference culture has changed in Danish public libraries.

Demands in the public and scientific libraries are becoming still more alike, and we often see students and other demanding users go to their public library as well as the scientific libraries.

This tendency is also a result of the traditional cooperation between all Danish libraries.

During the last 2-3- years the authorities have been working on a new library law, where reference services based on technology will be emphasized as the task of a modern library.

The reference services offered in the public libraries today are:

• info on local and all other authorities
• bussiness information
• general information (facts on all topics)
• bibliographic search
• interlending activities

The Interest Group on Reference Work is of course very concerned about how to enable even the small public libraries to handle this new situation.

Facts are that you get at lot of new tasks and possibilities in the libraries - but still you must also be able to offer all the other services, that Danish people expect from their local libraries.

Our fear is that there will not be sufficient education to upgrade librarians to at least a generalist level.

Among experienced reference librarians there is a feeling, that quality is synonymous with specialist work.

We, in the Interest Group, have taken the point that experience makes the specialists, therefore education, reeducation and upgrading is necessary - to keep up quality.

After the meeting in IFLA Discussion Group on Reference Work in Amsterdam last year we took the initiative to "take the temperature" of the reference situation in the Danish public libraries, knowing that many of them have already reorganized the structure of their organizations.

We have used the questionnaire from last years' reports to the IFLA Discussion Group, and we asked a number of librarians from big and small public libraries all over the country to give an answer.

The answers are published subsequently in our magazine "Referencen".

Until now we have received answers from 8 public libraries but we plan to let the questionnaire pass on during 1999.

The present status is that libraries organize and reorganize for many reasons in order to give better service to the users - but not necessarily to make the information service more efficient.

In several places traditional reference service has been integrated with other services. Reference work has become a generalist job, and it is seen that also non-librarians are occupied with what you could call specialized library services. Some employees do get proper education but most common is learning by doing or learning from your colleagues.

All libraries have home pages. All libraries use e-mail as a communication tool to their users. Most libraries offer free information via their home pages (links, stumpers etc.). One small library has chosen to start up at new reference department.

One library has deliberately changed services: less service to the users who come personally to the library (the library tend to organize in a way so that the user will be able to make it on his own…). In stead resources are concentrated on several "distance services" via internet. The library offers courses to their users and special services to immigrants, blind, dyslectic persons etc.

Asked about the positive aspects all reference librarians find, that the library as a whole has been more qualified in the sense that users get information faster.

Asked about the negative aspects the answers are, that there is a fear that the demanding users can get no "specialist service" because of changing organizations and different educational background among the employees. There is also a fear that different departments deal with the same questions from the same user (double work).

Most libraries use the feedback from their users to develop their services; but only one library mentions service declarations.

Asked about the future plans the tendency is integration of reference work in the lending departments. One (small) library plans to give up printed reference material in favour of the electronic where possible.

Also the necessity of cooperation on netguides, stumpers and other public library services to Danish users is mentioned; and this is a point where the Interest Group has taken special interest: The Danish library system has good traditions for cooperation in order to save resources and offer the best possible service to the users. At the moment there are two projects going on financed partly by the state: a netguide for users and a stumper for librarians.

The conclusion of our questionnaire (at the present moment) is that reference work has become a high priority being a central service of a modern public library. The question is whether the service will be able to keep up the standard. If no - you can foresee that users will go to other and better information brookers. If yes - we have had satisfactory education and reeducation in order to offer a relevant public service!

About the Union of Danish Librarians' Interest Group on Reference Work:

For more than 25 years The Interest Group on Reference Work has taken a special interest in the organisation and quality of reference work in the Danish Libraries. We participate in working groups and other fora, where aspects of reference services are dealt with, and we take initiatives to make better tools for the reference work as well as education and meetings for reference librarians.

Our magazine: "Referencen" is also published online (only in Danish).