LBSC 650

Instead of reading an article for my LBSC 650 class (which isn't due until Thursday), I'm going to write about class instead. As mentioned in the last entry, this course is an introduction to reference which is meant to prepare the student for the 700-level reference courses. I will probably end up taking a few of those as my goal is to be an academic librarian specializing in eighteenth century literature and history. Reference courses will be useful as part of the job will undoubtedly involve helping patrons search for materials, narrowing down paper/research topics, and assisting them with bibliographic citations, among other things. Plus, it appears that reference librarianship is an entry-level position in a lot of libraries and I want to be marketable after I complete my MLIS.

Much of what I'm learning for this course involves a process called the reference interview. It's a way for the librarian (or staff member) to determine the needs of the patron. The patron question is not always what it seems so it's the librarian's duty to discover the question that lies behind the question. For example, a patron approaches the reference desk and asks for a book about kites. The patron may want to know the history of kites, how to make a kite, the popularity of kites, or a book that has the word "kite" in the title (e.g., "The Kite Runner"). The librarian would have to figure out the nature of the request.

Other information that librarians find useful during the reference interview includes purpose of the search (e.g., is the patron using it for a class project, for a paper, or for the patron's knowledge), the format he or she wants it in (book, journal article, etc.), and whether it's time-sensitive. Does the patron need the materials by a certain day and time? Once the librarian understand the request, the librarian searches for the information, ensuring that the patron is involved in the search. The patron can be part of the process by suggesting keywords or by being told of the steps that the librarian is taking to retrieve the information.

According to one of the articles I read, librarians are only about 55% successful in fulfilling a patron's request (I'll post the citation once I find it). Even though they're not always successful in finding information, building a good relationship with the patron seems to me to be just as important as locating the information that the patron needs. Another article also stated that patrons are likely to return to librarians who have been, to put it simply, friendly and attentive (I'll also include a citation for this once I find it). The literature stresses that patrons are often nervous when approaching the librarian. Conducting a positive reference interview can only ease the patron's anxiety and prove beneficial to the library as a whole.

Coming up next: a post about my LBSC 690 course (but sadly, not as quickly as this post appeared).