Page 45 - DLIS105_REFERENCE_SOURCES_AND_SERVICES

Reference Sources and Services

Notes The services that are provided at a reference desk may vary depending on the type of library, its
purpose, its resources, and its staff.

3.5.2 Resources
Resources that are often kept at a library reference desk may include:
• A small collection of reference books (called ready reference) that are most often used, so that
the librarians can reach them quickly, especially when they are on the phone, and so that the
books will be returned in time for someone else to use later the same day. The library’s full
reference collection is usually nearby as well.
• Newspaper clipping files and other rare or restricted items that must be returned to the refer-
ence desk.
• Index cards with the answers to frequently asked questions, and/or drawers with folders of
pamphlets and photocopies of pages that, from previous experience, were difficult to find.
These enable librarians to find such information quickly without leaving the desk—even faster
than they could look it up in a reference book or using the Internet.
• Books and other items that are being held for library users who asked the librarian by phone
to set them aside for them to pick up later the same day, or within the next few days.
• Books from the circulating collection that have been set aside for students working on a spe-
cial assignment, and are temporarily designated to be used only within the library until the
project is due.
• Printed lists of items in the library that are not in the catalogue, such as newspapers, school
year books, old telephone directories, college course catalogues, and local history sources.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Question:
6. The reference desk or information desk is a
(a) Counter (b) Service counter
(c) Public Service counter (d) Single counter.
7. Library users can consult the staff at the reference desk for help in finding
(a) Inforation (b) Book
(c) Materials (d) Document.

Services
Services that are often available at a library reference desk include:
• A sign up sheet for reserving computers with Internet access, or word processing software.
• The ability to place the book ‘on hold’, which prevents the person who has borrowed it from
renewing it. The person who placed the ‘hold’ is notified when the book has been returned.
(Some libraries provide this service at the circulation desk.)
• The ability to request Interlibrary loan of books and other material from other branch librar-
ies in the same library system, or from a cooperating library anywhere in the world. (Some
libraries provide this service at the circulation desk.)
• The opportunity to recommend that the library purchase something for its collection that it
does not have, which may be needed or of interest to other library users.

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