For Value-Added Information Service, Press: REFERENCE

1. For Value-Added Information Service, Press:REFERENCE Christine M. Abrigo De La Salle University-Manila

2. Points to talk about • Reference and Information Service • Best Practice • Value of Reference and Information Service

3. What business are we in? Information service The process of helping library users to identify sources of information in response to a particular question, interest, assignment, or problem.

4. "The user community is growing too rapidly. It has too many questions."(Campbell, 1992)

5. Models of Reference Service Face-to-Face Liberal/Maximum Conservative/Minimal Call Center Information Commons Six-Themed Reference

6. Desk is the place. Physically concentrated. • Inflexible. • Image of librarian: Clerk.

7. Delivers answer in response to an inquiry. PERIOD. • No attempt to educate user along the process.

8. Trains users to make independent use of the library • Value is put more on the process of finding information, rather than the information itself.

9. Takes “calls” (i.e., queries), then provides ready reference/access to databases • Prewritten scripts/canned response • Lists down FAQs and FAAs

10. Responds to demands of technology • Information source + reference assistance • Creates collaborative spaces

12. "In spite of the rapid changes, the basic goal of reference service remains constant: to connect users with information."(Sitter and Gosling, 2007)

13. So...what elements remained the same over time? • "We cannot afford to refer; WE MUST PROVIDE." (Campbell, 1992) • Too many sources of information: Make sense of it. • Understand the winds of change. Do not just surf the tides. • Leave the reference desk and meet the users out where they are. • Teach users to have a watchful eye over source quality and credibility. REFERENCE LIBRARIAN

14. So...what elements remained the same over time? • They change. • They always expect something different in the service. • They prefer information to be delivered to them electronically. • They do not come to the Reference Librarian. USERS

15. So...what elements remained the same over time? USERS (Values) Immediacy Interactivity Personalization Mobility

16. So...what elements remained the same over time? USERS (Values) Immediacy Expects to receive service anytime of the day or night, any or every day of the week.

17. So...what elements remained the same over time? USERS (Values) Interactivity Expects follow up responses after the initial response to be equally swift.

18. So...what elements remained the same over time? USERS (Values) Personalization Expects to receive information packaged just for them

19. So...what elements remained the same over time? USERS (Values) Mobility A given. A value that will increase.

20. So...what elements remained the same over time? • Queries will always be queries. They will never go away. • Number of queries will continue to escalate. • “All roads lead to Rome” INFORMATION NEED

21. Current Reality • Virtual reference services now a standard offering. • Today's Reference Jargon: Disintermediation Live/real-time reference Everything on the Internet

22. Best Practice

23. Why consider "best practice"? (Dallas, 2008) • It is not a description of common practice. It is out of the ordinary. • It is not static; must constantly evolve. • Why? • people discover new and better ways of doing things • industry undergoes constant change

24. Why consider "best practice"? (Dallas, 2008) • It provides a rich source of continuous improvement (i.e., experience from other industries, cultures, environment, settings) • It measures the value/effectiveness of a service; can be used to come up with more effective solutions

25. Best Practice + Reference Service = • There is no fixed formula. • Relative and evolving. Metaphor: Not every new shiny toy you may want to own is age appropriate. Meaning: Not every new reference service you may want to practice in your library may not be the right thing for you...yet.

26. Best Practice + Reference Service = • Relative and evolving. Relative: In the sense that what may be best for library X may not be best for library Y. Evolving: In the sense that what may be one library's best practice today may not be the same as 5 years from now, or even just a year after.

27. Best Practice + Reference Service =

28. "No longer is the reference librarian passively curatorial but he/she promotes services and seeks “clients”; Less are we a “library”, more a “service”..."(Duckett, 2004)

29. Seek your clients. • Where else can they go and be with the library at the same time? • Capitalize on users’ values of immediacy and interactivity. • Learn alongside your patrons.

30. Seek your clients. Push the reference menu card towards their direction. How?

31. Seek your clients. Create new service venues for enhanced patron experience. • DRS such as IM, video-chat, mobile/SMS, SNSs (e.g., blogs, FB, Twitter, Instagram) • Location-based services/technologies (e.g., QR codes, Foursquare, Augmented reality) • Personalized engagement (e.g., Roving reference)

32. Seek your clients. Employ "consultation model" of library instruction. • Tailored information literacy and learning programs for specific clients. • Collaboration (user-librarian)

33. Be visible. • Maximize your discoverability. • Promote your services. (Murphy and Kroski, 2012)

34. Reference and Information Service at the DLSU Learning Commons DLSU Libraries Re-defining the way we learn

35. Various reference transactions • Directional • Bibliographic Verification (check/verify the accuracy and completeness of a given set of bibliographic data on a publication) • Ready Reference (QUICK answer: question can be answered quickly by consulting one or two standard reference tools) • Ready Reference (Instructional: providing the answer involves demonstrating a skill) • Document delivery service • Specific Search ( looking for more information than a single fact and generally require searching multiple sources for the answer) • Technical Assistance/PIN-password creation • Research (Complex Question) • Literature Search/Database Search • Searching/locating library materials Not all possible by face-to-face and/or telephone

36. Reference Transactions in Numbers During Term 3 AY 2012-2013 (i.e., January 2013 –April 2013), average DAILY transactions were at: • 30 reference transactions (LORA and desk) • 5 document delivery requests • 3 requests for searching/locating materials Four (4) days into Term 1 AY 2013-2014, 255 reference transactions were received. That is 64 queries/day = 113% increase!

37. Seeking our clients.

38. Library Online Reference Assistant (LORA) • Virtual reference service became a venue to seek clients and increase the library’s visibility • LORA formally launched in September 2009 • A reference librarian who renders accurate and instant answers to queries posted by the users of the library, whether or not one is member of the university.

39. What does LORA do? Ask LORA (via e-mail or DLSU Library’s Facebook page) Chat with LORA (instant messaging) Video chat with LORA (via Skype call) Call LORA (by telephone) Text LORA (SMS reference) FB LORA (communicate with LORA via Facebook) Tweet LORA (communicate with LORA via Twitter)

40. LORA Transactions in Numbers

41. Investments on VAIS • Enhance the DRS platform for better reference-client experience (i.e., Springshare tools) • Pool of well-rounded, dedicated and PATIENT reference librarians

42. Investments on VAIS

44. Investments on VAIS

47. Library Instruction/Consultation

48. Being visible.

49. Social Media

50. Social Media