Page 67 - DLIS105_REFERENCE_SOURCES_AND_SERVICES

Reference Sources and Services

Notes Reference transactions do not include formal instruction or exchanges that provide assistance with
locations, schedules, equipment, supplies, or policy statements. Reference Work includes reference
transactions and other activities that involve the creation, management, and assessment of information
or research resources, tools, and services.

6.1 Reference and Information Services—Concept

Reference services also sometimes referred to as ‘Reference and Information services’ which means
personal assistance provided to the users and potential users of information. It is characterized by a
high degree of interaction between staff members and individual users or specifically identified group
of users or potential users. Providing such personalized information service has remained the main
aim of library and information profession. In another definition James Wyer has defined it as ‘that
part of library administration which deals with the assistance given to readers in their use of resources
of the library’.
The function of libraries is three-fold. Libraries acquire information, organize that information in a
way it can be retrieved, and disseminate the information the library has acquired. Reference services
fulfills this last function.

Reference services may vary from library to library, but most libraries have an
information or Reference Desk where assistance from a librarian is available.

Almost all libraries also provide reference services via the telephone and in may libraries you can
email your reference question, or Ask a Librarian, to a reference librarian who will e-mail you back
with the answers.
There are three main types of reference assistance:
• Assistance or instruction in the use of the library, including location of materials, use of the
catalog, use of computers to access information, and the use of basic reference sources.
• Assistance in identifying library materials needed to answer a question.
• Providing brief, factual answers to questions, such aws addresses, statistics, phone numbers,
etc. that can be quickly located.
The Reference and Information Services Section will address all aspects of reference work, in all types
of libraries, in all regions of the world. Current interests encompass the new electronic environment
and the resulting changes in reference work, the future role of reference work, and the quality of
reference services.
Future investigation, discussion, and programming will focus on:
• User-centered reference services
• Organization and staffing of reference services
• Ethics and the provision of high quality service
• The impact of the digital environment on reference services
• Reference collections in a digital world
• Continuing education of reference librarians
• Marketing/Visibility of library reference services
• Providing a forum for information on the nature of reference work in different parts of the
world.

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