What’s the Future of Your Reference Desk?

Thanks to Mimi Vollstedt, Reference Librarian, Main Library, U.S. Department of Justice, for sharing information about the recently established Task Force of the Libraries of the Department of Justice on the future of the reference desk.

This article was originally published in the 2008 Best Practices for Government Librarians: Web 2.0 in the Workplace and Beyond. The 2008 edition includes 70 articles and other submissions provided by more than 40 contributors from libraries in government agencies, courts, and the military, as well as from professional association leaders, LexisNexis Consultants, and more.

Read on...

The libraries of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington DC recently established a task force to look at the “Future of the Reference Desk.” The group will examine the literature, talk to librarians and ‘thinkers’ and visit a number of special and academic libraries and information centers. The group wants to find out how reference work gets done today and identify emerging trends in the 21st Century. The task force has already begun to:

• examine ways in which metrics might contribute to better reference service,
• see how new technologies such as IM, virtual reference and social networking are working to enhance reference services,
• evaluate the interplay between the availability of electronic resources and the physical reference desk, and
• assess the impact of all of these changes on staffing.

To get started, the task force took a closer look at DOJ reference statistics from each of its eight libraries around Washington. The data provide a snapshot of reference at each library and reveal some interesting findings. For example, in some DOJ libraries over 50% of all reference queries come from email. In others, the majority of patrons telephone the reference desk for help or actually visit their DOJ library. What this means for DOJ’s reference librarians will be one topic for the task force to mull.

In early February, a brief notice about the project that the task force posted to several listservs netted a swarm of responses. The “future of reference” appears to be an issue very much on the minds of librarians and a source of frequent conversation.

At the conclusion of the project, the DOJ group hopes to have recommendations for DOJ management and staff. The task force also plans to share its conclusions about the future of reference with the larger library community in the Fall. In the meantime, if you want to share your thoughts or ideas, please contact the task force chair.