The Reference Question–Where Has Reference Been? Where Is Reference Going?

ABSTRACT

This article describes the genesis for a seminal conference program at the ACRL National Conference of 2007, dealing with the future of reference service and the changes in technology that have affected reference over the past 30 years.     

Reference Ethics - Do We Need Them?

No abstract available for this article.     

The Plugged-in Reference Librarian: Who Do We Think We Are?

In recent years, academic reference librarians often find themselves working in closer proximity to computer workstations, labs, and information commons. They are spending a greater portion of their time assisting library users with the vast array of software and hardware used to access library resources. This study examines whether an increased demand for technological knowledge and proficiency is reflected in job expectations for academic reference librarians. Researchers compared randomly chosen academic reference librarian job advertisements from 1999 to those from 2011, examining both job responsibilities and candidate qualifications. Results were mixed, with some variables gaining prominence but others declining. There was no apparent increase in demand for technological skills and responsibilities overall.     

Do We Really Have an Internet Problem?

Summary

Due to the nature of the Internet, a disconnect exists between observed and actual usage in libraries. A variety of problems may arise surrounding Internet access in academic settings. However, the speed with which transactions occur, the privacy issues involved, and the vast amounts of information and services available make it impossible to assess the extent of any problem. With Internet tracking software, librarians may acquire data that will assist them in tracking problems, and in assessing user Internet behavior. This article reports on a study conducted with LittleBrother software at Northwestern University Main Library's General Information Center.     

Have We Passed Peak Book? The Uncoupling of Book Sales from Economic Growth

This paper uses time series data on UK book sales to establish what correlation exists between the national income of a country and its sales of books. This is tested by comparing series data in real terms for GDP per capita and for various data series for the UK market, including sales invoiced by publishers and point of sale data on consumer purchasing. The first period, from 1985 to 1999, shows a strong relationship between total sales and GDP per capita. In the second period, from 2001 to 2015, the link appears to disappear when we examine invoiced sales from publishers, even before the impact of the 2008 crisis. This is also including the growth of digital sales towards the end of the period. The direct consumer data shows sales tracking GDP until the onset of the financial crisis; thereafter the only trade sector to have kept pace with GDP is children’s, and this contrasts with the areas of adult fiction and non-fiction. Have we therefore seen a structural shift in the book market? If we have passed peak book, what has brought about this uncoupling of book sales from economic growth? Factors are considered including changes in retail, competition from other media, and a prioritization of experience over the accumulation of stuff.     

Teaching Cost-Effective Research Skills: Have We Overemphasized Its Importance?

Surveys of law librarians show concern with the lack of cost-effective research skills of law students and new associates. Some commentators call for greater emphasis on the subject in legal research classes. To explore whether the subject merits increased instructional attention, the author surveyed second- and third-year law students at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law about their summer research experiences. The purpose of the survey was to find out how much importance summer employers placed on containing online research costs. The student survey results contradict the commonly expressed view that employers are greatly concerned with containing online research costs. The author posits that law library surveys generally reflect the experiences of large firm librarians, whereas the great majority of students and practicing attorneys do not work at these organizations. The concerns of these librarians might not be as relevant for students who work at smaller firms and government organizations. The author notes that the survey results suggest that there is no need for increased emphasis on cost-effective research at schools that do not have a large percentage of students who go on to work at large firms.     

Electronic Serials Cataloging: Now That We're Here,What Do We Do?

Summary

Many aspects of electronic serials cataloging have not yet developed standard practice, or are still in transition. This article will explore some problematic issues in electronic serials cataloging first by presenting current CONSER policy in these areas and then by examining the practices of three institutions who are cataloging electronic serials. For brevity, the term “electronic serial” will be used to mean “remote access computer file serial” unless the more specific term is needed for clarity. The five topics covered in this discussion are: Access and Location Information, Multiple Versions, Definition of Electronic Serial, Bibliographic Access Points and Display of Computer File Characteristics.     

Do We Still Need Reference Services in the Age of Google and Wikipedia?

With the continuing development of web resources and Internet search utilities, the role of reference services is changing in the modern library. Traditional ready reference is in decline, but the need for broad-based research support will continue for the foreseeable future. As librarians adapt to the evolving research environment, libraries are experimenting with alternative models of reference services. Far-reaching calls to adopt one model or abandon another, such as the traditional reference desk, are off target given that each library must adapt to its own local situation and determine how best to serve its constituents.     

How Do We Learn?: Contributions of Learning Theory to Reference Service and Library Instruction

Summary

This article focuses on some major contributions from learning theory that impact how adults learn. Following an overview of two major learning theories—behavioral and cognitive theories—the authors discuss four factors that affect learning. These are attention, perception, memory, and contiguity and practice. Other topics presented include prior knowledge effect and transfer of knowledge problems. The article closes with five recommendations for incorporating results from learning theory research into reference service and user instruction.     

Can I Have Your Attention? Implications of the Research on Distractions and Multitasking for Reference Librarians

The media have identified the past decade as “the age of distraction.” People today find it harder to work on long, sustained tasks because distractions are eroding their attention spans, fostering a culture of discontinuity. Fields as diverse as psychology, business, education, human-computer interaction, and communication studies have produced a wealth of studies on interruptions, distractions, and multitasking—research that has important implications for reference librarians. The nature of our jobs invites interruptions by the public, requires familiarity with the latest technology, stimulates curiosity about a broad range of subjects, and demands adeptness at multitasking—all factors that can atomize attention.     

What Do You Have on Arthur Flegenheimer? Research and Reference at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library

No abstract available for this article.     

“Can We Get There from Here?” Negotiating the Washouts,Cave-Ins,Dead Ends,and Other Hazards on the Road to Research on Africa

SUMMARY

This introduction to Africana reference describes the populations of researchers, the kinds of questions they ask, and how librarians–both specialist and generalist–may respond. It explores issues in “known-item” searches, including name authority and access to material in collected works and series. Choices made by authors, publishers, indexers, librarians, and researchers themselves have an impact on topic searches. Terminology for African languages, ethnic groups, place names, and topics cause problems for novice researchers, but library policy decisions can also impede access. Errors of all kinds–minor or major–can block access to information. The speed of electronic desktop publishing seems to have encouraged reduced care with proofreading, indexing, and verification of quotations and citations. The need for accurate information about Africa is great, but the market for publications and electronic resources focused on Africa is relatively small. This low market share can result in less coverage of Africa in indexes and reference tools. Despite the difficulties encountered in researching Africa, researchers and the librarians who assist them benefit from the tools, services, and initiatives of specialist Africana librarians and from a number of commercially produced resources.     

Who Do We Think We (and They) Are? The Audience and the Researcher as Participants in Sociomaterial Practice

The article problematizes the ontological and epistemological separation of the audience researcher from the very audience the researcher wishes to investigate. After all, every researcher co-constitutes the research outcome, and every researcher can potentially be articulated also as audience participant. The text consequently suggests conceptualizing the researcher as well as the researched as participants in and contributors to sociomaterial practice by building on insights from Critical Psychology. Thinking audience research in the light of such an understanding challenges widely accepted divisions between those who do research and those who are being researched, as well as between theoretical and empirical work, between qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Finally it is argued that the researcher's perspective on the sociomaterial relations of concern is necessarily situated and limited. Hence, engaging in audience research as social research calls for investigating other practice participants' perspectives on these relations so as to collaborate on tackling problems of shared concern.     

You can't Get There from Here,or How Do I Become a Slavic Studies Librarian?

ABSTRACT

New librarians looking to enter the field of Slavic librarianship soon discover there is no clear template for how to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in this field. This article attempts first to define those skills and knowledge, and then to map out the opportunities for acquiring them in North American institutions. Toward this goal, it summarizes and analyzes the results from a survey of the educational and experiential background and current responsibilities of 128 working Slavic librarians. It then details the North American academic institutions offering specialized training or degree programs for Slavic librarians and those institutions where the component parts are all available to be assembled by the proactive student.     

Do We Have It? A Comparative Analysis of Library Journal Holdings and Works Referenced in Faculty Publications

Libraries often wonder if their collections can support their faculty’s research. Large citation databases, such as Scopus or Web of Science, can help automate such a review process. This session will present findings about to what extent faculty were able to complete their journal publications without utilizing interlibrary loan. Using data gathered from Scopus, the range and date of journals referenced by faculty at my home institution will be compared with holdings from my library’s electronic resources knowledge base to determine the level of overlap. Results will be presented by journal discipline to highlight any variation among the science, social science, and arts and humanities divisions. Special emphasis will be given to using this data to inform decisions about purchasing journal backfile collections.     

How Can We Tell When a Heuristic Has Been Used? Design and Analysis Strategies for Capturing the Operation of Heuristics

Communication research based on social cognition draws heavily from dual process models such as the heuristic-systematic model. Both heuristic and systematic processing are said to be aided by quick rules of thumb or mental shortcuts called heuristics. However, the operationalization of heuristics is quite problematic because their use in decision-making is not directly measured. Scholars claim the operation of specific heuristics in specific situations, based often on clever experimental evidence. We propose a methodological framework that calls for both manipulation and measurement of heuristics in order to offer more direct evidence of their operation. We first review different existing approaches in the literature for operationalizing heuristics. We then discuss our approach and describe the application of moderated mediation to analyze the resulting data. We conclude with a study idea and simulated data that illustrate how our proposed design and analysis framework could be applied in communication research.