Not Your Mother’s Library: Reference Experts Write for the 21st Century
 The next time you walk into a library and the person at the reference desk doesn’t get to you right away, don’t think they’re simply ignoring you – they could be instant messaging with someone from across the country trying to find just the right resource for an important project.
Today’s librarians are spanning two eras of information, and in any given day they may have to help someone page through stacks of print journals while assisting someone else in judging the reliability of an Internet source. Reference service librarians not only need to have an intimate knowledge of the material to which they shepherd the public, but also must know how best to deal with that public, swimming in unprecedented depths of information. Marie L. Radford (pictured at right in photo) and Kay Ann Cassell have long been authorities in the area of reference service. Each has just co-authored a book intended to educate reference librarians of the future. Radford is an associate professor in the Department of Library and Information Science; Cassell is a lecturer in the department and directs the Master of Library and Information Science program at the School of Communication and Information. “Our two books are different pieces of the puzzle,” Radford said. She explained that while Cassell’s book is an exhaustive review of the resources, materials, activities, and services in a reference department, her new publication focuses on the human interaction side of working in reference in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Traditional reference work is undergoing rapid change as resources and services are increasingly delivered electronically. Hybrid arrangements are also becoming more common: People increasingly visit the “brick” buildings as well as “click” on online libraries’ websites to use information technology resources that help with finding jobs, applying to colleges and universities, and solving other pressing professional and personal information needs. Developing a positive relationship with library users is pivotal to making sure people come back and get the information they need. Today’s librarians need to understand how to develop that rapport across numerous these mediated platforms – telephone, live chat, social networking sites, mobile applications, instant messaging, and texting are just some of the ways that librarians are connecting people with information. “In today’s fast-paced, deadline-driven world, one common problem is people come to reference librarians, in person or online, and they are already stressed out. Because of their familiarity with Web resources, including Google and Wikipedia, they may have an unrealistic expectation of what information is available instantly,” Radford said. “Also, there is some apprehension when people approach librarians. It just boils down to basic interpersonal skills, interacting in a way that reassures people they will find authoritative, knowledgeable help that is personal and friendly, no matter whether it is given face-to-face or via live chat or instant messaging.” Today’s librarians are leaders at the forefront of information technology. “Librarians know they really need to reach their users wherever they are,” said Cassell, who was in charge of reference and collection development in the 1990s for the Branch Libraries of the New York Public Library. “Anything new that comes along, someone is trying it out right away.” For example, librarians are experimenting with Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social networking tools for online outreach to younger and tech-savvy users. “One of the jobs of the librarian is to choose how to deliver information to people. It makes it more difficult sometimes to figure out exactly what the users want,” Cassell said. “In many ways it is the same – it’s just that the tools are different and the choices are different now.”
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