Redefining reference services : Transitioning at one public library

Transitioning at One Public Library The author was invited to the Library of Congress Institute "Reference Service in a Digital Age" to provide a practical case study of one library's transitioning into the digital age. Profiled here is what the Baltimore County Public Library experienced in integrating electronic and print reference services. The author describes the challenges and benefits of incorporating electronic reference services. Public libraries now operate in a radically different environment, one characterized by rapidly changing technologies, less staff, more customer demands and accountability, continuous learning, flexible staffing, virtual collections, and more. This article addresses how the Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL) is facing those challenges and also reaping some benefits from working with electronic reference sources in our new information environment. Challenges of Electronic Reference Services The major challenges our staff face as they provide electronic reference services include: * Learning new Web and electronic database resources * Finding the additional time needed for expanded reference process with customers * Meeting higher expectations of customers * Determining core functions of BCPL librarians. Learning New Sources It is no secret that learning the content of Web reference sites as well as knowing the content and sources available through the vendor electronic databases is a huge task that adds to all the other new skills librarians are expected to have today. Just as most of us have a mental map of the print reference collection so that we can quickly locate a specific book, we are now trying to create a similar mental map of Web reference sites. We must not only know the basic content of electronic reference sources but, in an ideal world, we should also know the differences in the content, currency, and index access between a Web site and a print reference source. It is clear that reference service requires much more judgment today as we decide which of the many resources is most appropriate for answering a specific question in terms of accuracy, currency, time efficiency, and cost. While BCPL staff has become proficient in using search engines and other Web search utilities, we ask that our staff also become familiar with the most useful reference sites rather than depending on search engines as a starting place. Attempts we've made at BCPL to help librarians become more familiar with Web reference sites include: * Developing a Core Reference Sites list for librarians to work through on branch teams when Internet came up on the Information Desks. * Offering Web reference training workshops, which cover new developments in search engines and directories, search strategy tips, alternatives to using search engines, etc. * Encouraging our librarians to serve as Center Evaluators for the BCPL Web site, where they "manage" (evaluate and select) the links on a subject center so they can become familiar with different subject areas of the Web. * Developing "FirstLook," the BCPL Virtual Reference Desk, which integrates internal and external electronic tools to support Information Desk work. While our collection of Web reference links by topic is not unique, we do feel our attempts to group all our electronic information tools together (including BCPL tools, such as Quick Reference File, Query File, and Temporary Reference Documents) on an Intranet site is a useful step in making Information Desk tools easily accessible and searchable. Finding the Additional Time The BCPL staff has found that the reference process generally takes longer when using electronic resources, for the following reasons: * More potential resources to check * May take longer to develop a good search strategy * Offering user instruction in the search process a new step for many public libraries * Informing the customer about reliability of Web-based information. …