Reference Work Section

Annual Report 2002-2003

The election of the first Standing Committee based on nominataions from member sections took place at the Berlin conference in 2003.

The following members were elected:

Annsofie Oscarsson, Sweden (chair), Martin Kesselman, United States (secretary/treasurer), Catherine Wojewodzki, United States (information coordinator), Concha Lois Cabello, Spain, Josje Calff, The Netherlands, Valentina Comba, Italy, Andrea Delumeau, France, Amanda Duffy, United Kingdom, Jieyin Feng, China, Beth Fisher, United States, Birgitta Fogelvik, Sweden, Franceen Gaudet, Canada, Suzanne D. Gyeszly, United States, Gunilla M. Hakli, Finland, Francis T. Kirkwood, Canada, Diane Nester Kresh, United States, Anne Grodzins Lipow, United States, Uwe Schwersky, Germany, Raymond-Josue Seckel, France, Ms Petra van den Born, France, Bodil Wohnert, Denmark, Susan McKnight, Australia (corresponding member), Marta Terry, Cuba (corresponding member)

Mission

The Reference Work Section addresses all aspects of reference work, in all types of libraries, in all regions of the world with emphasis on unrestricted availability of information. The Section aims at bridging the gap between the physical and the digital library, to promote life-long learning and information literacy in all aspects of the knowledge sharing process, and to support library staff around the world with standards and guidelines for reference service.

• User-centered reference services
• Organization and staffing of reference services
• Ethics of high quality service
• Provision of high quality service
• Impact of the digital environment on reference services
• Reference collections in a digital world
• Continuing education and training of library staff
• Marketing/Visibility of library reference services
• An information forum on the nature of reference work in different parts of the world
• The democracy-building role of reference services

• Open Session Berlin

Reference Work Open Session
Reprofessionalisation of reference work: interaction in the physical and the virtual library

Moderator - and overview of the state of virtual reference:
ANNE GRODZINS LIPOW (Library Solutions Institute and Press, Berkeley, USA)
1. Digital reference in Germany - an overview and experiences on the need for qualifications
   Digital Reference in Deutschland - Überblick und spezifischer Kompetenzbedarf
   La référence en ligne en Allemagne : aperçu et expériences sur les qualifications nécessaires
   HERMANN RÖSCH (Fachhochschule Köln - Fachbereich Informationswissenschaft, Köln, Germany)
2. Designing and delivering information services to postgraduate students: experiences of one librarian at the University of Melbourne
   SABINA ROBERTSON (School of Graduate Studies, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia)
3. Cooperation across cultures in public and scientific libraries: the cooperation in Net Librarian / BiblioteksVagten: a Danish 'Ask the librarian'-service
   La coopération à travers les cultures dans les bibliothèques publiques et scientifiques: la coopération dans Net Librarian/Biblioteks Vagten: un service de référence virtuel danois
   VERA DAUGAARD (Central Library Herning, Herning, Denmark)
• Workshops Berlin

Reference Work Workshop
Hot issues in reference: mini-discussions on reference topics of global interest

The workshop will consist of several discussions on topics of global interest with the following faciliators:
• Mary Carol-Lindbloom of the Alliance Library System in Illinois, USA, will lead a discussion on multiple-library virtual reference collaborations.
• Lek Choh Ngian of the National Library Board in Singapore will lead a discussion on real-time reference via kiosks in the library and elswehere.
• Kay Cassell of the New York Public Library, USA, will lead a discussion on alternative models of reference staffing.

Serial Publications & Reference Work Workshop
Electronic journals: how they are changing our lives

This workshop will examine the impact of electronic journals on a number of library activities:
- Selection of titles for a library
- How e-journals are packaged and distributed
- Licensing and rights management
- Workflow in acquisitions and cataloguing
- Reference and public services work
Panel:
ADOLFO RODRIGUEZ (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico)
PURIFICACION GARCIA DELGADO (Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain)
ANDREAS M. HEISE (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany)
EVELINDE HUTZLER (Universitätsbibliothek Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany)
DAN LESTER and PEGGY COOPER (Boise State University, Boise, USA)
HILDEGARD SCHAEFFLER (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Münich, Germany)

Projects

The Digital Reference Guidelines, headed by Diane Kresh, project was finished and published on IFLA website. Translations into various languages were initiated.

Publications

The Sections Newsletter was published in May: Summer 2003, Volume 2

The Section's Information Broschure was published in English, German, French and Spanish.

Members

By August there were 50 members registered for the Reference Work Section.

Submitted by
Annsofie Oscarsson
Chair