Electronic Reference Services: Some Suggested Guidelines

Some Suggested Guidelines For years, the provision of electronic reference services has been conducted on a largely informal or ad hoc basis. This article suggests that electronic reference services are in need of guidelines, similar to those used to guide the development of library support for distance learning and branch libraries. Specific issues that will need to be considered in the development of such guidelines are identified here, including administration/management, services, primary clientele, personnel, infrastructure/facilities, finances, and evaluation. It would seem that an activity like electronic reference service, which is widespread and well esablished, would have professionally prepared and accepted guidelines. This, however, is not the case. A visit in May 1998 to the Web sites of two American Library Association units likely to be concerned with remote reference--Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)--revealed that, of the nearly forty guidelines and standards posted there, not one of them related to electronic reference service. Compare this to the field of distance learning. In reviewing the literature of library support for distance learners, there appears to be certain parallels with electronic reference service. In each case, the librarian is dealing with a user that is not physically present in the library. While the distance learner may be hundreds of miles away, and the remote reference user is generally physically present in the local community, in both cases service is being provided to a user who is not physically co-located with the librarian. Many of the issues that impact support for distance learners also impact the provision of remote electronic reference services. One place to get a basic general overview of these issues is at the Web site titled "Library Support for Distance Learning."[1] There is no lack of guidelines governing library support for distance learners. Both the American Library Association and the Canadian Library Association have issued guidelines. The ALA guidelines were established by the Extended Campus Library Services Section (now the Distance Learning Section) of ACRL in 1981 and revised in 1990 and 1998. The CLA guidelines were first published in 1992 by CLA's Library Services for Distance Learning Interest Group; a draft revision of these guidelines was published in 1998. In addition, in 1990 ACRL published "Guidelines for Branch Libraries in Colleges and Universities"--another set of guidelines that would be of interest to those planning for electronic reference services. Suggested Guidelines for the Support of Electronic Reference Services The following suggested guidelines are intended to help libraries formalize their electronic reference services. Many of these electronic reference services are fairly informal in nature; quite often, they are dependent on the initiative and interest of specific individuals on the library staff. These guidelines are not intended to deal with librarian/user interactions (e.g., the remote reference interview). Rather, they are intended to define a more formal, stable role of electronic reference services in the overall framework of the library. These suggested guidelines draw on the other guidelines listed above. The suggested guidelines cover the following issues: * Administration/management * Services * Primary clientele * Personnel * Infrastructure/facilities * Finances * Evaluation. Administration/Management Administrative and management issues need to be treated on a number of levels: Library Division/Department. Obviously, the commitment and support for a remote reference services program need to be strong at the reference and public services departmental level. In addition to commitment, department managers must make sure that such services are incorporated into the formal departmental administrative structure. …