What is the Role of the Reference Librarian?
Posted by: David Tyckoson
At the Booklist webinar on 21st Century Reference Collections, an academic librarian from Texas asked:
Q: What does David think the role of the reference librarian is today?
A: This is one of my favorite topics and one that I could talk about all day long. Fortunately, I will spare you the long version and give a short synopsis. In my opinion, the role of the reference librarian is the same as it has been from the beginning – to help users of the library.
In 1876, Samuel Green(*) suggested in the first published paper on reference service (based on his talk at the first American Library Association conference) that reference librarians have four roles:
1. Teach people how to use the library and its resources
2. Answer queries for specific information
3. Recommend good sources and reading material
4. Promote the library within the community
I have to say that this is exactly what reference librarians do today. We do these four functions using very different tools and in very different ways than librarians did back in the 1870s, but the functions have remained constant. And I am willing to bet that this is what reference librarians will be doing in 2076 and beyond, but in very different ways than we are doing it now.
Reference is all about helping people – and always will be.
(*) Green, Samuel Swett. “Personal Relations Between Librarians and Readers.” Library Journal, volume 1, October 1876, pp. 74-81.
February 17th, 2010 at 8:57 am
[...] A Booklist Blog Mary Ellen Quinn and a team of front-line experts write about reference sources and trends in reference publishing and services. « What is the Role of the Reference Librarian? [...]
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:25 pm
A reference librarian should encourage patrons to think long-term about their careers in business and not just their next job. Planning for education, learning skills (computer), and learning about the culture of the people that work in a field are all important to be successful. As the old saying goes, “chance favors the prepared mind.”