Reference as Service, Reference as Place: A View of Reference in the Academic Library

An ever-changing patron base, with increasing knowledge of basic technologies and comfort with ubiquitous computing, affects the library's ability to provide reliable support for research questions. Models for reference and research help have evolved over time; they seem to be trending toward increasingly distributed services and collaborative models offered at the point of need. Reference services continue to change with the advent of various technologies that are readily integrated into the academic library environment. This article addresses these issues and examines the concept of “reference as place,” the importance of a location for reference services, and its applicability to the contemporary academic library.

[1]  William L. Whitson.  Differentiated service: A new reference model , 1995 .

[2]  Lisa R Patricia A Deborah L Horowitz,et al.  The Viability of Live Online Reference: An Assessment , 2005 .

[3]  Douglas Herman.  But Does It Work? Evaluating the Brandeis Reference Model. , 1994 .

[4]  Donald G. Frank,et al.  The Changing Nature of Reference & Information Services: Predictions and Realities , 1999 .

[5]  Anne Moore,et al.  / Connecting 24/5 to Millennials : Providing Academic Support Services from a Learning Commons , 2009 .

[6]  David W. Lewis,et al.  Traditional reference is dead, now let's move on to important questions , 1995 .

[7]  Chuck Becker.  Student Values and Research: Are Millennials Really Changing the Future of Reference and Research? , 2012 .

[8]  Judy M. Spak,et al.  The Personal Librarian Program: An Evaluation of a Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Outreach Initiative , 2007, Medical reference services quarterly.

[9]  David Bawden,et al.  Rethinking Reference: the reference librarian's practical guide for surviving constant change; Elizabeth Thomsen (Ed.); Neal-schuman publishers, New York, 1999, ISBN 1-55570-364-X, 291 pp , 2000, International Journal of Information Management.

[10]  Robert P. Holley,et al.  The Past, Present, and Possibilities of Commons in the Academic Library , 2009 .

[11]  The Changing Nature of Reference and Information Services , 1999 .

[12]  Samuel Rothstein.  The development of reference services, through academic traditions, public library practice, and special librarianship , 1990 .

[13]  Scott Carlson.  Are Reference Desks Dying Out? Librarians Struggle to Redefine–and in Some Cases Eliminate–the Venerable Institution , 2007 .

[14]  Louella V. Wetherbee,et al.  Rethinking reference in academic libraries : the proceedings and process of Library Solutions Institute no. 2, University of California, Berkeley, March 12-14, 1993, Duke University, June 4-6, 1993 , 1993 .

[15]  Caroline Cason Barratt,et al.  Reference models in the electronic library: The Miller Learning Center at the University of Georgia , 2010 .

[16]  Pamela Martin,et al.  Reference Desk Consultation Assignment: An Exploratory Study of Students' Perceptions of Reference Service , 2010 .

[17]  Robert Hauptman,et al.  Is traditional reference service obsolete , 1995 .