The Reference Desk and the Digital Native
Since the establishment of the Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Library in 1984, the Reference Desk has been a place where library patrons can come and ask any questions they have. But why come to a reference desk at all, given the ubiquity of Google and numerous online self-help guides–created by librarians–that might seem to make human interaction unnecessary? The experience of reference staff in the O’Neill Library indicates that there is a demand for the personal: the Reference Desk fielded over 4500 queries in fall 2018.
Students and researchers, especially those who are digital natives, often are unaware of the services the Reference Desk provides. They might be surprised that they can consult with a staff member at the Reference Desk about their research with no prior appointment. Reference staff make the patron their priority, approaching the patron’s immediate information need as potentially nuanced and complex. For, underlying even a seemingly simple question might be a deeper inquiry: a class assignment; an idea for a research project; an investigation into resources in a subject area; or a need for familiarization with the library. Through direct personal contact with the patron, staff can assist and guide as deeper inquiries are uncovered. Conversations can lead to locating authoritative resources and tools; learning how resources are organized; determining subject categories; refining search strategies; and connecting with subject area experts when specialized knowledge is needed.
The value that reference staff bring to the encounter with the patron is that through dialogue and partnership, with patience and care, they can lead patrons to discover pathways to resources they might not have known existed. Interactions with patrons encompass learning to use the library catalog and databases effectively; finding periodical literature in a given subject; ferreting out the details of an incomplete journal citation; working through course assignments that require library research; and generally understanding library resources better. Reference staff certainly are prepared to meet a specific information need, but they also strive to go further, enlarging the patron’s understanding by situating the particular piece of information in the landscape of library resources.
It can be a challenge reaching a generation of students with little experience of reference. Lately, staff have been exploring innovative ways of communicating the value of reference to the Boston College community. In late fall 2018 students encountered a “pop-up” citation clinic in the O’Neill Library lobby. Librarians were available for drop-in personal consultations with students needing guidance with citation styles. Students also learned that, for 68 hours a week staff at the Reference Desk are available to help with citations and much more. In spring 2019, the pop-up clinic will be expanded to include drop-in consultations on a variety of topics that highlight areas of staff expertise that can benefit students and researchers.
In fall 2018, the O’Neill Reference Desk had well over 2,000 instructional interactions with library patrons, but staff have the capacity for considerably more. Over and above numbers, however, are the relationships and trust that reference staff foster, by being present and available. Though library staff have created many online course and research guides (currently 330, with about 230,000 page views in fall 2018), reference staff are asked time and time again how to use the resources they list. The reply–no matter the question–is Ask us!
Throughout the coming year, reference staff will be piloting a variety of approaches to better communicate the value of one-on-one learning in the library. You might see some interesting experiments, and perhaps some long-term changes. Staff at the O’Neill reference desk look forward to seeing you and your students in person.
