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Relabeling Reference

Relabeling Reference. A Question of Branding. Reference is changing. Does “Reference” still mean anything? What do you call it? Should we call it something else?. Reference Activity at the Lee Library. Ask Me now!. Help Desk. Ask Here. Information Services. Research Services.

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Relabeling Reference

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  1. Relabeling Reference A Question of Branding

  2. Reference is changing.Does “Reference” still mean anything?What do you call it?Should we call it something else?

  3. Reference Activity at the Lee Library

  4. Ask Me now! Help Desk Ask Here Information Services Research Services The desk formerly known as Reference Information Help Desks @ Q&A Café

  5. What does the literature tell us? “Librarians also need to do a better job of promoting the current services offered to users. If our users do not know what sort of assistance librarians can give them in their information searches, then they will be unlikely to seek out any assistance from librarians. Librarians and libraries may become increasingly irrelevant to users’ information needs.” – O'Gorman, Jack, and Barry Trott. "What Will Become of Reference in Academic and Public Libraries?" Journal of Library Administration 49.4 (2009): 327-39.

  6. What do our peers tell us? • We examined the websites of the 125 members of the Association of Research Libraries to see what they call reference: 92 Reference 33 Information 25 Service 16 Research 10 Help 7 Commons

  7. What do our peers tell us? • We examined the websites of 103 other RU/H institutions to see what they call reference: 79 Reference 15 Information 11 Service 11 Research 3 Help

  8. What do our users tell us? • We surveyed 3,000 faculty and students • 46% undergraduate students • 22% graduate students • 32% faculty • 23% responded

  9. What do our users tell us?

  10. What do our users tell us?

  11. What do our users tell us? Help 238 Information 126 Assistance 121 Research 104 Service 104 Reference 47 Answer 16 Ask 15 Commons 1

  12. What do branding professionals tell us? • Company as brand • “Consumers tend to perceive all services offered by a company as components of a single brand. . . . . Services do not lend themselves to individual branding, as tangible goods do.” • de Chernatony, Leslie, and Francesca Dall’Olmo Riley. “Experts’ Views about Defining Service Brands and the Principles of Services Branding.” Journal of Business Research 46 (1999): 181-192. • Delta or Wells Fargo vs. Proctor & Gamble

  13. What do branding professionals tell us? • Front-line employee as brand • Services are intangible, complex, heterogeneous, and process- not product-based. • The front-line employee is the manifestation of the “company as brand,” so internal branding is key. • Employees must believe in the company’s brand characteristics, so that they will portray those traits to the users as they provide services. • Reference should not be branded

  14. What did we decide? • But you still have to call it something! • “Whatever you name it, the variety of resources this desk provides should be advertised.” – Senior

  15. Q&A • Contact: Andy Spackman Business and Economics Librarian Brigham Young University andy_spackman@byu.edu Kathy Johansen Access Services Department Chair Brigham Young University kathy_johansen@byu.edu • Committee Members: • Russ Taylor • Ryan Combs • Greg Nelson • Steve Nordstrom • David Layton • Cyndee Frazier • Amy Bernards • Valerie Buck

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