But let's remember... not everything that is found in the internet is a reliable information resource.
This is when the assistance of the Media Specialist is fundamental!
Getting Started: Introduction to Reference and Informational Services.
Going along with the changing of times (and technology), the librarian can help the patrons no only face-to-face old fashion mode, but also through telephone and electronic ways (Instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter, e-chat, etc.).
The convenience of having answers to their searches at any time of the day is making that many patrons (with less physical presence in the library facilities) are now using the library online resources (website, virtual reference services, online catalogs) and the library staff has to be prepared for all the new changes that technology is having constantly, meeting the customer's needs.
The Librarian not only has the mission of helping the patrons, but he/she has to do it in the most professional way following the rules of ethics of the American Library Association (ALA) Guidelines, giving the best information available, making sure to respect the Intellectual Property and Copyright Laws, placing his/her personal beliefs and interest on the side, and respecting the confidentiality and privacy of the users, along with a professional and respectful treatment to public and colleagues. If the librarian wants to give an excellent services to the public he/she must be aware of the needs of the customer and show interest about the inquiries, be able to communicated in an effective way to check that the customer understands how to conduct the research and guide them correctly, and to have a follow up to make sure that the patron is satisfied with the services and return if there is need to continue to look for more.
Most people think that the Librarian is the person sitting on chair in the Reference Desk, that collects and passes books. That is only one part of the work of the Media Specialist, which also can assist patrons with other issues:
Be ready to answer reference questions, and if the answer is not available...
+ Help, guide and teach the people how to search in the best reliable and verified sources for the information they are looking for.
+ Also aiding in the checking and citing the sources and materials correctly,
+ Use their knowledge of the library collection to make sure that the correct printed and electronic resource is used in the research, in case that this information is not available in the library, to contact the client with specialized libraries.
+ Advise patrons in the selection of printed materials (books, journals, magazines, etc) and electronic resources (library catalog, search engines, databases, websites) and how to use this resources in the most safe and effective way.
+ Select and evaluate the printed and electronic resources that the library acquires, making sure that has the best quality available, that is reliable and accurate, with with easy access to the customers and librarians, meeting the criteria and standards of the library.
+ Create materials and online resources informing about the library services and activities to the community.
Determining the Question: In Person, Telephone, and Virtual Reference Interviews.
As we said before, these days librarians can be contact in different ways, in person and in electronic ways.
The ways to contact are different, but the purpose is the same, from the customer, to ask and request information, and from the librarian, to give the best service with the information that the patron is asking for.
The way how librarian and customer interact and keep a conversation is a delicate matter and if is worked in the correct way, the process of research will be easier and more effective.
The first step is to make sure to make contact with the customer, in this matter, non-verbal communication is important, when a librarian show interest and keeps eye contact, customers feel welcome and are more willing to establish a rapport with the librarian.
Once the communication is established it is crucial that the media specialist must be aware of the customer's needs and make questions to clarify any doubts.
Then, librarian starts working in a plan/strategy on the best resources and guide the customer in how to use these validated resources in an effective way.
At the end of the process, the librarian must make sure that the patron's question has been answered in a satisfactory way, always inviting the customer to return if more services are needed and closing the interview in a courteous way,
Is the duty of the librarian to make everybody feel comfortable and respected in the library.
The media specialist must be aware of the differences in the public:
Cultural differences among his various customers, what is okay in one culture may be not in another. Language can be a challenge communication with people who are learning the language, the librarian can ask for clarification and/or writing the query.
Librarians must be available, approachable and practice interpersonal skills, listening carefully and practice questioning to start the search , rephrasing the questions of the customer, continue and check for understanding, finish and follow up the conversation with the customers, always utilizing a clear and pleasant voice.
All these skills can be applied in a telephone conference, and if the search is going to take longer, do not leave the customer unattended, is preferably to tell the patron that the conversation can be continued in certain amount of time, so the librarian can search for information and help the person.
These principles can be applied in the computer and texting settings, always starting contact with a greeting and reading carefully for what the patron is writing, posting questions for clarification and have answers for the customer, and not forgetting to do a follow up to assure that the client experience was a satisfactory one.
The RUSA (Reference and User Service Association) has Guidelines that summarizes what librarians have to follow in order to give a high quality service to the public:
- Approachability
- Interest
-Listening/inquiring
- Searching
- Follow up
Some of the behaviors to avoid are:
+ Do not listen to customer carefully and send them away without any information of what resources to look and where to find them.
+ Giving fast answers without questioning more and clarifying the topics.
+ Try to impose his/her criteria, telling that the research must not be done because of the difficult of the search.
+ Criticize the customer for not research before coming to the library.
+ Leave the reference desk and no return to the customers.
Finding the Answer: Basic Search Techniques.
When a customer approaches the librarian, this one must start considering different factors in order to help to make the research to be an assertive one and not deviated and wasting time and energy in a wrongful search.
The librarian should start with open ended questions in order to start gathering information about the query. Sometimes a combination of open and close ended questions works better for the investigation.
Other things that the librarian must consider are:
+ How much time is going to be use to answer the question?
+ Is a simple or complex research?
+ It only covers one subject and/or is interdisciplinary?
+ It is only necessary to use one resource or several? only printed books and/or electronic resources?
+ What sections of the library are going to be utilized (reference, non-fiction, juvenile, children's)
The librarian must avoid inadequate searching skills (not utilizing the correct resources like the library catalog, doing more browsing rather than searching), not using the correctly the databases when a high level searching is needed, and not having a follow up with the customers.
The librarian must gather the correct resources, organize them, prioritize with are the best ones and overview the outcome of the final answer, that can be skilled answers (achieved with the selection of the best options of information) or elementary answers (that are the result of low quality resources and lack of time in the research).
Timing is important in the acquisition of answers, sometimes the pressure and haste can compromise the quality of the out coming, which can be incorrect and/or inappropriate information, and the same occurs when the librarian is not familiarized with the collection and resources.
It is imperative that the librarians have a knowledge of the catalog available in the library facilities, and try to learn about new topics (that can be when you are working along with your customers in themes that are new for the librarian).
One way librarians can check if a search has been successful is in the number of documents obtained in the results and the words that appear in the title or subject keywords.
At the end, all the information gathered can be organized right away in the database (to avoid this to disappear) and/or saved in a USB, be put in a software, e-mailed, and printed, whatever is convenient for the customer.
It is important that librarians know the process of the answering strategy, most of the time is done by instinct from experienced librarians.
Deconstructing the process, going step by step can be considered a slow and tedious task, but help the librarian to keep in touch, tune and improve these skills, and reinforce the educational value of the questioning, answering and searching process.
Finding answers is what we do as reference librarians... that is our raison d'entre (our purpose to be).
