The Future of Reference Service

Finally!! Someone with a positive outlook about Reference 2.0. Joe Janes from the University of Washington is awesome. Funny, positive, and really smart.

First, we must rethink reference services, change our thinking about reference.

Everything will eventually be in digital format. Google’s goal is to have “all the books.” We are used to vertical searching, but horizontal searching, looking at everything briefly, is the new way of searching. Federated searching as well . The University of Washington's default search is World Cat. There are lots of ways to get at stuff at every level: book, song, poem, word level, image level…..Wholes and parts are universally accessible. So how do we insert reference services into this paradigm? From a 1930 book on reference service: They will choke and die before they tell you what they want. LOL

We have to be more easily found without giving up who we are and what we do. We need presence beyond the walls of the library. We need to be in and out of the library at the same time. We need to be somewhere and everywhere. We still need to provide physical space for the community: social, study, etc. When the stuff has physical form, it has to live somewhere. As the stuff becomes digital, more people will want it that way. The library has to be everywhere. It is sometimes easier to use the library from home. For the people who are doing deep research and want quality and authority, we do full blown reference and research. That's where we shine. For now print is our secret weapon. As the years go by, print becomes less of a strategic advantage. There will be few solely digital libraries. The role of print will decrease, but it will still be there. So keep weeding the reference collection, and let it circulate. The idea is METHOD OVER MATERIAL.

For the quick and transitory needs (chat, brief encounter), “move them forward.” Give them a tip, give them what they need. If they need the next step, go for it.
For the tendril people, help them tame the network. Train them, be on the network, lead by example. Youth must lead.

For the nonusers, leave them alone. But let them know you’re there. Tell people what you do and why you matter. We are a time and a money saver.

Whatever we do for a patron online, we have to do better than if they came into the library. When they visit the building, it’s harder to leave. It's easy on the web to click away from the library.

There are more people getting more information. We need to help that be more effective. Should we be confident in what we do? Yes. But we shouldn’t be complacent. The web gives us more and better opportunities for us to provide better service.