Reference Service - Nature, Scope, Need and Purpose

 

 The literature reveals that the reference service, as a distinct function of the library, began in the late nineteenth century, largely in response to the growing prevalence of publicly funded libraries seeking to serve relatively inexperienced and unskilled readers, researchers, scholars and users of the libraries. While the Father of Librarianship in India Dr Ranganathan stated that the reference is establishing contact between reader and book or source by personal service. He recognized the four categories among readers as the freshman, the general reader, the ordinary or generalist enquirer, and the specialist reader. These four categories are provided the reference services as per their requirements like initiation is given to the freshman, general help to general reader, ready reference service to the ordinary or generalist enquirer, and long range reference service is provided to the specialist as well as generalist reader. Initiation and general help will involve a practical knowledge of the psychology of readers. Ready reference service will require a good knowledge of reference books and sources. The reference librarian needs to have the good bibliographical mastery and familiarity with the developments in the universe of knowledge and has to be updated with the new technological and trends in the world. So, the modern e -reference librarian need to offers users with the opportunities to extend access to their services and enrich the quality of their provision. The modern reference librarian is well aware of the vastness of the world of knowledge and the varieties of intricacies of the information required by the reader at different level, so it has been very important in the present world.

History of Reference Service

Historians of reference services usually trace modern concepts of reference work to Samuel Green's 1876 paper, "Personal Relations Between Librarians and Readers,".

 later published in American Library Journal (now Library journal). Until that time, libraries concentrated on acquiring and organizing materials, and library users were expected to find what they needed independently. Green's paper is both quaint and surprisingly modern in its concept of reference work.

He advised librarians in public libraries that many users, particularly working men and businessmen, have neither the knowledge nor the time to search for the information they need, so the librarian should find the information and present it to them. When young people come to the library to work on school assignments, Green advised instruction in the use of encyclopedias and indexes to books, along with an invitation to ask for assistance if the needed information is not readily found. He also pointed out that librarians are frequently asked for guidance in the choice of recreational reading materials or in the conduct of research into specific topics. In all of these cases, Green observed, individuals do not know how to use a library effectively on their own, as do scholars. He also noted that friendly and effective assistance to users will bring citizens to the library and cause the community to view its public library as indispensable.

Green's ideas were presented at a time when printed library aids such as the dictionary, catalogue, the Dewey Decimal Classification system, and periodical indexes were also beginning to make it easier to find information in the library and within library materials. Although some librarians regarded these aids as sufficient, during the 1880s and 1890s the need for special full-time staff trained in the principles of assisting library users in their search for information gained wide acceptance. The new activity initially called “assistance to readers” was known by the 1890s as “reference work”. By 1900 many public libraries in USA had reference rooms, where reference materials were available on open shelves and reference librarians were ready to provide assistance in the use of library materials.

During the first half of twentieth century, the concept and practices of reference work were expanded and specialized services such as readers’ advisory service and bibliotherapy were developed. Early in the century public library reference departments began answering information requests by telephone. At about the same time, they offered reference in branch libraries, in addition to those offered in the reference room of the central library. In public libraries, the establishment of separate collections, in areas such as business, science, music, and art, began as early as 1913. A similar trend in academic libraries had occurred by the 1930s, when some libraries created separate units to serve faculty and students in specific subject departments. In both types of libraries, a consequence of this departmentalization was the need for reference librarians with appropriate subject backgrounds. This evolution of subject specialization has continued to the present day, contributing to a lively discussion about whether specialist or generalist reference librarians can offer the most effective mode of service.

At the same time, the growth of special libraries—libraries established to serve primarily employees of the institutions that created them—exerted a profound effect on the concepts and practices of reference work. The idea of special libraries developed in the early years of the century, beginning with the establishment of the Legislative Reference Service of the state of Wisconsin in 1900. Based on that example, special libraries were later created in industrial research laboratories, businesses, and health care institutions. The significance of special libraries for the. development of reference service was that, unlike other libraries, special libraries existed primarily to provide service rather than to build and house collections. This freed the special librarian to pursue a higher standard of reference service, based on a detailed knowledge by the librarian of the information needs of the clientele, a willingness to seek out needed information from any source, and an ability to synthesize or otherwise to prepare information for use by the client. The delivery of reference services experienced dramatic changes in the twentieth century. In general, it increasingly became more efficient and effective—at times, and in certain settings— to deliver reference service by means other than face-to-face interactions at the reference desk. Originally, librarians answered questions and assisted library users from reference desks and readers' advisory desks, Then, reference service by telephone was added, followed by the acceptance of mailed or referred questions from users who had no direct contact with the library. During the last thirty years of

the century, the library instruction movement brought academic librarians into the classroom to teach and answer students' questions. The growth of subject-based information services in academic and special libraries moved reference services into the offices of librarians as well as the offices, laboratories, and other working areas of their users. Today, the provision of reference service by e-mail, text messaging, chat, audio, video real-time chat services is expanding.

 

References and Further Reading

Davinson, D. (1980). Reference Service. London: Clive Bingley. Egyankosh (n.d). BLIS-06 Information Services (module).

Katz, W.A. (1982). Introduction to Reference Work. In : Reference Services and Reference Processes: 4th ed. Vol.II. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

Krishan Kumar (1996). Reference Service. 5th ed. New Delhi: Vani Educational Books. Ranganathan, S.R. (1961). Reference Service. 2nd ed. Bombay: Asia Publishing House. Ranganathan, S.R. (1963). Documentation and its Facets. Bombay: Asia Publication.