Reference Interaction Fieldwork Report
LIS 601 Dr. Diane Nahl
by Yoko Kudo, Fall 2003
Statement of
Philosophy
Objectives for Fieldwork
Observation Procedures and Efforts to Meet
Objectives
Observations
Habitual Patterns of Information Need and Behavior
Observed
Suggestions for Improvement
Evaluations of Experience
Endnotes
“Professional
Competencies for Reference & User Services Librarians”
developed by the ALA’s Reference and
User Services Association (RUSA)1[1] is the comprehensive
guideline for successful reference and user services librarians. It
states that
a librarian should be able to identify patrons’ real needs and provide
appropriate
information to meet those needs. In order to achieve this, the
guideline also
points out that a librarian should have the ability to assess the
service and
information resources, and have the continuously updated knowledge of
information technology and study areas relevant to patrons.
“Philosophy
of Reference”
applied by the Central Information Services/ Business, Humanities, and
Social
Sciences Department (CIS/BHSD) of Hamilton library at UH Manoa
fundamentally
follows this guideline. It particularly emphasizes the importance of
user
satisfaction, clearly stating “CIS/ BHSD service philosophy
is to
provide the highest quality of service for each user, concentrating on
meeting
the definition of satisfaction from the user’s perspective...”
My own philosophy is that a user
services librarian is the intermediary between patrons and information
resources, which is one of the most important functions of libraries.
To serve
as the efficient and effective intermediary, I believe that having the
qualities proposed by RUSA is essential for a librarian.
This was an
example of a
one hundred percent successful reference service. The
key to success was that the librarian was following the
patron with his eyes even after the exchange was completed at the desk. If he didn’t
do so, the patron would be lost and frustrated. The
patron said that he had been there before, but the librarian
prepared for a case that the information from the patron was incorrect. I learned that the follow-up service was not
just to say patrons to come back, and the reference service was not
limited to
activities at the desk.
A young
couple,
apparently undergraduate students, came to the desk, and one of them
asked a
librarian about something. After the
exchange of a few words, the librarian started searching in Voyager and
online
databases. The librarian changed the
database several times and continued searching almost in silence. It took quite a while in locating the
necessary information. At the
beginning, the student was curiously looking at what the librarian was
doing. As about 20 minutes passed by,
she began talking with her boyfriend, and at last, she looked
completely bored
leaning against her boyfriend.
I consider this example to be unsuccessful. As a result of the long boring waiting time, the student received some information from the librarian. However, regardless of whether she got the necessary information or not, I don’t think that she was satisfied with the service. The problem was that the librarian paid little attention to the patron while he was searching. If he explained what he was doing to her, she may not have been so bored and got interested in the database searching. It was an opportunity for instruction. In other cases, I often observed that a librarian was talking to a patron while searching. Many patrons tended to ask questions about the searching process, when they were explained how the information was found.
Reference Observation #3
A
librarian was
searching a database of EBSCO host for a student. It looked as if the
student
had no interest in what the librarian was doing. He was looking towards
the
different direction while he was waiting for the librarian’s
answer. The librarian didn’t try to talk to
him until the search was over. She located some articles, and showed
the search
result to the student pointing at the screen. When the student was just
leaving
the desk, the librarian added, “This database is REALLY useful.” By
this word, the
student stopped and looked at the screen again. The librarian then
provided him
with a brief instruction on how to use it.
This is another successful example that I observed. I was so impressed with the way the librarian said the last word and led the student to learn the database. When this interaction occurred, I was standing near the librarian, trying to ask questions to another librarian. It looked as if she said the word just because she sincerely believed that database was useful. Whether she had the particular intention to stop the student by saying this or not, I believe it was the result of her wide experience that she made good use of the opportunity for instruction.
Habitual Patterns of Information Need and Behavior Observed
Users
Types of Information
Needs
I found two major types of user information needs. The first type was the need for assistance in finding the materials they wanted. It seemed that the majority of the patrons coming to the desk with this need did not know much about Voyager and online databases. It looked as if they wanted the librarians to do searching for them, rather than wanted to know how to search information. The second type of needs was about locations and directions. It included such questions as “Where can I get this book?”, “I can’t find this call number.” and “Where can I check out books?” I also heard many questions and calls for help about the hardware, such as the printers, copiers, and PCs available for the Microsoft Office applications.
Information Seeking
Behavior
I was surprised to find many patrons looking insecure when they spoke to librarians. This may be because their needs were still vague, or they were unsure if they could clearly explain what they needed. Additionally, they seemed to be worrying if their inquiries were accepted at the reference desk. I conceived this idea when I observed the first example described above. The man who asked the location of Asia collection even apologized for taking up the librarian’s time. In such cases, librarians’ approachability and welcoming attitude were significantly effective in making the patrons comfortable.
Library Staff
For
patrons’ requests, almost
all the librarians searched Voyager first, and then turned to the
online
databases. When they used Voyager, they often consulted the Library
of Congress Subject Headings.[1]3 I saw some
librarians explaining what the red books were for and what they could
do with
the subject headings.
In terms of
the reference interview
technique, I observed the following points based on the WORF Reference
Technique that I learned in class:
- In general,
most of the librarians were approachable when they noticed a patron. I
think that the LIS interns paid more attention to patrons than the
librarians did. They often talked to the patrons in line and thanked
them for waiting. They sometimes spoke to the persons hanging around
the desk and asked them if he had any questions.
- It seemed
that open-ended questions were not asked very often. I rarely saw a
patron explaining or describing something for the librarian.
- I didn’t notice that
the librarian rephrased or restated the patron’s questions.
Instead, I occasionally observed that a patron nodded in agreement at
the librarian. I guessed it was the moment when the librarian confirmed
the patron’s needs.
- I also rarely heard follow-up questions. I saw one patron asking a librarian her name and coming back to her for another question.
I believe
that the
following situations I observed need to be improved:
- Some
librarians were slow in acknowledging a patron. This was mainly because
they concentrated on the computer screen or documents on the desk. At
one time, a librarian didn’t notice the
presence of a patron who was standing right in front of him at all. The
patron waited a little while, and finally gave up talking to him.
Librarians should always face forward and pay more attention to people
who try to approach the desk.
- Librarians
should make a full effort to reduce the patrons’ waiting time. Very often, especially in the afternoon, there was
a long line formed in front of the desk. Some
librarians were concerned about the waiting patrons saying, “I’ll be with
you in a minute.”
However, no matter how many people were in line, the number
of librarians at the desk didn’t increased. Not to make patrons wait must be an important
factor for their satisfaction at the service. In
the library in Japan where
I came from, librarians tended to call other available staff for help
when a waiting line was formed. I think that
such a flexible action should be considered at Hamilton library.
- Librarians should be more careful of the protection of the patrons’ privacy. I saw a librarian talking with a patron in a voice of excessively large volume. I also found the next person in line coming too close to the desk when it was not his turn yet, but no librarian tried to warn him.
I
think that this fieldwork is a quite beneficial experience and I
recommend it to all students. When I
learned the importance of librarians’
attentiveness and
approachability in class, I didn’t really
understand how they were important. I
have placed little value on them so far, because when I use a library
as a
patron, I don’t care much
about librarians’
attitudes. However, by doing
observation, I saw different types of patrons and a variety of
reference
questions. I realized that the
attentiveness and approachability were very important technique for
handling
those varied patrons and questions.
Unfortunately, I was unable to identify the four levels of user
information needs, which was one of my objectives for this fieldwork,
and yet I
could develop much of my theoretical knowledge into the practical
expertise. One librarian told me that
the reference service is art, not science.
Any questions cannot be the same, have their own value, and
involve
different interactions. I did feel it
in action in my observation.
What we saw and heard tends to
slip our memory. Analyzing what I observed based on the lecture in 601
and
writing a report on it helped me clearly define what I learned, and fix
it
firmly in my mind.
I am not sure what type of
librarian I will become in the future, yet I highly appreciate this
experience
because I believe that any positions in the library need to be familiar
with
patrons’ needs.
1 American Library Association RUSA, “Reference Guideline: Professional Competencies for Reference and User Services Librarians.” Reference and User Service Association; available from http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/RUSA/Professional_Tools4/Reference_Guidelines/Professional_Competencies_for_Reference_and_User_Services_Librarians.htm; Internet; accessed 02 December 2003.
[1]2 Robert S. Taylor, “Question-Negotiation and Information Seeking in Libraries.” College and Research Libraries29 (May 1968): 178-194. [Z671 .C6]
[1]3
Library of Congress, Library of Congress
Subject Headings, 23rd ed, 5vols. (Washington,
D. C.:
Library of Congress, 2003). [Z695 .U4749]