Reference Renaissance--more conference notes from Beverly Lehrer

Some belated additional notes from the Reference Renaissance conference August 3-4 in Denver.
Some conference powerpoints are now available at http://www.bcr.org/referencerenaissance/schedule_details.html


AUGUST 3

KEYNOTE ADDRESS -- Reference in the Age of Wikipedia, or Not…, David Lewis, Dean of the University Library, Purdue University

The revolution we are experiencing now is the easy production and distribution of information via the web. The tools of the 19th century library will not organize content on the web. Instead, we need new tools to manage this content.

We are seeing the mass amateurization of information—anyone can publish. Wikipedia is an example of this. It is a process, not a product. If people care about it, they will improve it, and create a good body of work.

His conclusion—libraries need to create tools and communities for open scholarship and information.

SESSION 2 TRACK C --Meeting User’s Needs Through New Service Models . Kay Cassell, Ph.D., Rutgers University, SCILS

This presentation was essentially an overview of some alternatives to the traditional reference desk in libraries. Libraries are trying:
*roving reference, to enable contact with users who don’t approach the desk.
*reconfiguring reference desks. Smaller desks may be less intimidating. Using better signage for the reference desk.
*No reference desk???
* Consolidating service points—combining circ/ref desks.
*Tiered reference—two or three levels of service. In some cases, this involves use of paraprofessionals.
*Outreach reference—going where the users are. Trying office hours in academic departments. Outreach to students worked best in areas where students were really studying (not hanging out or taking breaks)
*Innovative technology—tablet PCs with headphones, OPAC’s in the stacks.
*Web based—e-mail, chat, blogs.

What needs to be done in the future? Keep up with user needs. Try new models. “Librarians must be more visible. Marketing is essential.”


SESSION 2, TRACK C -- Traditional vs. Hipster Librarians, Hannah Kwon, Ph. D. Student, Rutgers Univ.

Are we hip? What makes a librarian a hipster, not a traditional librarian? Are there real differences between the two?

Ms. Kwon thinks the distinction reflects the shift from traditional—system centered—librarianship, to a more user-centered approach.

System centered librarianship has the goal of helping patrons retrieve materials from tools like the catalog, responding to organized categories and with the librarian as gatekeeper. In user-centered approaches, the user’s information need is the primary focus—and the user often does not know what is needed. In this model, the goal is to deduce the information need, with the information seeker as a “customer,” then figure out how best to meet the need.

AUGUST 4

TRACK B, SESSION 4 -- Neo-Reference — Looking for Real Change Susan Beatty and Helen Clarke, University Library, University of Calgary, Canada

Helen Clarke—Libraries are experiencing ‘disjunctive’ – rapid change, rather than a gradual change in ways of doing business. In Canada, reference stats are falling as off-campus use of electronic resources rises. Some of this may reflect the value users place on independence.
She made the following assertions about reference collections:
*Digital is better. Invest in user needs for digital resources
* A ‘digital collection’ is not needed—be careful about duplication of print and electronic resources.
*Buy what is hard to find and use—but is of high value.

One of the challenges is improving ‘discoverability’ of materials in aggregated electronic resources—whether it is material in open source products such as Wikipedia and Google, or commercial products from vendors such as Credo.

Susan Beatty—The issue for reference service is creating user-centered tools. She spoke about the new information commons library at the University. Rather than try to describe this project, here’s the link: http://tfdl.ucalgary.ca/

Her advice to librarians: learn how users learn. Be approachable.