Reference work and the value of reading newspapers: An unobtrusive study of telephone reference service

Reference and User Services Quarterly

Volumn 39, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 71-81

  Dilevko, Juris ^a   Dolan, Elizabeth ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0033196896     PISSN: 10949054     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (78)

1. James I. Wyer, Reference Work: A Textbook for Students of Library Work and Librarians (Chicago: ALA, 1930), 120-21.
2. Margaret Hutchins, Introduction to Reference Work (Chicago: ALA, 1944), 103.
3. Ibid., 103.
4. Ibid., 69.
5. Katherine G. Harris, "Reference Service Today and Tomorrow: Objectives, Practices, Needs, and Trends," Journal of Education for Librarianship 3 (Winter 1963): 175-87.
6. Ibid., 184. Harris is quoting Mary E. Poole, "What is Reference Work?," Library Journal 85 (Apr. 15, 1960): 1522-24.
7. Ibid., 184. Harris is quoting Mary E. Poole, "What is Reference Work?," Library Journal 85 (Apr. 15, 1960): 1522-24.
8. William A. Katz, Introduction to Reference Work, volume II: Reference Services (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969), 19-20. Katz relies on the 1961 report Reference Service in American Public Libraries Serving Populations of 10,000 or More (Univ. of Illinois Occasional Papers, Mar. 1961) as well as the following two articles: "Talent Show," RQ 3 (Winter 1965): 37; Eric Moon, "Reference Vagaries," Library Journal 89 (Apr. 15, 1964): 1,698.
9. William A. Katz, Introduction to Reference Work, volume II: Reference Services (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969), 19-20. Katz relies on the 1961 report Reference Service in American Public Libraries Serving Populations of 10,000 or More (Univ. of Illinois Occasional Papers, Mar. 1961) as well as the following two articles: "Talent Show," RQ 3 (Winter 1965): 37; Eric Moon, "Reference Vagaries," Library Journal 89 (Apr. 15, 1964): 1,698.
10. William A. Katz, Introduction to Reference Work, volume II: Reference Services (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969), 19-20. Katz relies on the 1961 report Reference Service in American Public Libraries Serving Populations of 10,000 or More (Univ. of Illinois Occasional Papers, Mar. 1961) as well as the following two articles: "Talent Show," RQ 3 (Winter 1965): 37; Eric Moon, "Reference Vagaries," Library Journal 89 (Apr. 15, 1964): 1,698.
11. Continuing Library Education Network and Exchange Round Table, ALA, Self-Assessment Guide for Reference (St. Paul, Minn.: Off. of Library Development Svcs., 1986), 6.
12. Rochelle Yates, A Librarian's Guide, to Telephone Reference Service (Hamden, Conr.: Library Prof. Pubs., Shoe String Pr.), 40.
13. Charles D'Aniello, "Cultural Literacy and Reference Service, RQ 28 (Spring 1989): 370-80. See also Margaret Stieg, "Continuing Education and the Reference Librarian in the Academic and Research Library," Library Journal 105 (Dec. 15, 1980): 2547-51; Jacques Barzun, "The New Librarian to the Rescue," Library Journal 94 (Nov. 1, 1969): 3963-65; Jacques Barzun, "The Scholar Looks at the Library," College and Research Libraries 7 (Apr. 1946): 113-17.
14. Charles D'Aniello, "Cultural Literacy and Reference Service, RQ 28 (Spring 1989): 370-80. See also Margaret Stieg, "Continuing Education and the Reference Librarian in the Academic and Research Library," Library Journal 105 (Dec. 15, 1980): 2547-51; Jacques Barzun, "The New Librarian to the Rescue," Library Journal 94 (Nov. 1, 1969): 3963-65; Jacques Barzun, "The Scholar Looks at the Library," College and Research Libraries 7 (Apr. 1946): 113-17.
15. Charles D'Aniello, "Cultural Literacy and Reference Service, RQ 28 (Spring 1989): 370-80. See also Margaret Stieg, "Continuing Education and the Reference Librarian in the Academic and Research Library," Library Journal 105 (Dec. 15, 1980): 2547-51; Jacques Barzun, "The New Librarian to the Rescue," Library Journal 94 (Nov. 1, 1969): 3963-65; Jacques Barzun, "The Scholar Looks at the Library," College and Research Libraries 7 (Apr. 1946): 113-17.
16. Charles D'Aniello, "Cultural Literacy and Reference Service, RQ 28 (Spring 1989): 370-80. See also Margaret Stieg, "Continuing Education and the Reference Librarian in the Academic and Research Library," Library Journal 105 (Dec. 15, 1980): 2547-51; Jacques Barzun, "The New Librarian to the Rescue," Library Journal 94 (Nov. 1, 1969): 3963-65; Jacques Barzun, "The Scholar Looks at the Library," College and Research Libraries 7 (Apr. 1946): 113-17.
17. John Charles and Shelley Mosely, "Keeping Selection In-house," Library Journal 122 (Mar. 15, 1997): 30.
18. James Newsome and Claire McInerney, "Environmental Scanning and the Information Manager," Special Libraries 81 (Fall 1990): 285-93.
19. J. F. Cove and B. C. Walsh, "Browsing as a Means of On-line Text Retrieval," Information Services & Use 7 (1987): 183-88.
20. Chun Wei Choo, "Perception and Use of Information Sources by Chief Executives in Environmental Scanning," Library & Information Science Research 16 (Winter 1994): 23-40. See also Chun Wei Choo and Ethel Auster, "Scanning the Business Environment: Acquisition and Use of Information by Managers," in Annual Review of Information Science and Technology 28, ed. M. E. Williams (Medford, N.J.: Learned Information for ASIS, 1993), 279-314.
21. Chun Wei Choo, "Perception and Use of Information Sources by Chief Executives in Environmental Scanning," Library & Information Science Research 16 (Winter 1994): 23-40. See also Chun Wei Choo and Ethel Auster, "Scanning the Business Environment: Acquisition and Use of Information by Managers," in Annual Review of Information Science and Technology 28, ed. M. E. Williams (Medford, N.J.: Learned Information for ASIS, 1993), 279-314.
22. Choo, "Perception and Use," 38.
23. Leigh Buchanan, "The Smartest Little Company in America," Inc. 21 (Jan. 1999): 42-54.
24. Ibid., 43.
25. Ibid., 54.
26. Alasdair Kemp, Current Awareness Services (London: Clive Bingley, 1979), 21-22.
27. Brian Quinn, "Improving the Quality of Telephone Reference Service," Reference Services Review 23 (Winter 1995): 39-49.
28. Ibid., 40.
29. Daniel R. Smith, "Collection Development for Telephone Reference," The Georgian Librarian 30 (Winter 1993): 64-67.
30. Debra E. Tour, "Quest Line (Telephone Reference): A Different Approach to Reference Service," Public Libraries 37 (Jul./Aug. 1997): 256-58.
31. Ibid., 257.
32. Ibid., 256.
33. Frank R. Allan and Rita H. Smith, "A Survey of Telephone Inquiries: Case Study and Operational Impact in an Academic Library Reference Department," RQ 32 (Spring 1993): 382-91.
34. Deborah C. Duke, "'Night Owl': Maryland's After-Hours Reference Service," Public Libraries 33 (May/June 1994): 145-48.
35. Mary Lee Bundy and others, "Public Library Reference Service: Myth and Reality," Public Library Quarterly, 3 (Fall 1982): 11-22; Thomas Childers, Telephone Information Service in Public Libraries: A Comparison of Performance and the Descriptive Statistics Collected by the State of New Jersey (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers Univ., 1970); Terence Crowley, The Effectiveness of Information Service in Medium Size Public Libraries (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers Univ., 1968); Marcia J. Myers and Jassim M. Jirjees, The Accuracy of Telephone Reference/Information Services in Academic Libraries: Two Studies (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1983).
36. Mary Lee Bundy and others, "Public Library Reference Service: Myth and Reality," Public Library Quarterly, 3 (Fall 1982): 11-22; Thomas Childers, Telephone Information Service in Public Libraries: A Comparison of Performance and the Descriptive Statistics Collected by the State of New Jersey (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers Univ., 1970); Terence Crowley, The Effectiveness of Information Service in Medium Size Public Libraries (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers Univ., 1968); Marcia J. Myers and Jassim M. Jirjees, The Accuracy of Telephone Reference/Information Services in Academic Libraries: Two Studies (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1983).
37. Mary Lee Bundy and others, "Public Library Reference Service: Myth and Reality," Public Library Quarterly, 3 (Fall 1982): 11-22; Thomas Childers, Telephone Information Service in Public Libraries: A Comparison of Performance and the Descriptive Statistics Collected by the State of New Jersey (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers Univ., 1970); Terence Crowley, The Effectiveness of Information Service in Medium Size Public Libraries (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers Univ., 1968); Marcia J. Myers and Jassim M. Jirjees, The Accuracy of Telephone Reference/Information Services in Academic Libraries: Two Studies (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1983).
38. Mary Lee Bundy and others, "Public Library Reference Service: Myth and Reality," Public Library Quarterly, 3 (Fall 1982): 11-22; Thomas Childers, Telephone Information Service in Public Libraries: A Comparison of Performance and the Descriptive Statistics Collected by the State of New Jersey (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers Univ., 1970); Terence Crowley, The Effectiveness of Information Service in Medium Size Public Libraries (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers Univ., 1968); Marcia J. Myers and Jassim M. Jirjees, The Accuracy of Telephone Reference/Information Services in Academic Libraries: Two Studies (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1983).
39. Beth Paskoff, "Accuracy of Telephone Reference Service in Health Science Libraries," Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 79 (Apr. 1991): 182-88.
40. Duke, "Night Owl," 146.
41. Juris Dilevko and Elizabeth Dolan, Government Documents Reference Service in Canada: Implications for Electronic Access (Ottawa, Canada: Public Works and Govt. Svcs. Canada, 1999).
42. Childers, Telephone Information Service in Public Libraries, 40, 125-26.
43. Charles R. McClure and Peter Hernon, Improving the Quality of Reference Service for Government Publications (Chicago: ALA, 1983).
44. McClure and Hernon provide a good synopsis of this criticism in Peter Hernon and Charles R. McClure, Unobtrusive Testing and Library Reference Services (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex, 1987), 165-70.
45. Joan C. Durrance, "Reference Success: Does the 55 Percent Rule Tell the Whole Story?" Library Journal 114 (Apr. 15, 1989): 31-36; David A. Tyckoson, "Wrong Questions, Wrong Answers: Behavioral vs. Factual Evaluation of Reference Service," The Reference Librarian 38 (1992): 151-73.
46. Joan C. Durrance, "Reference Success: Does the 55 Percent Rule Tell the Whole Story?" Library Journal 114 (Apr. 15, 1989): 31-36; David A. Tyckoson, "Wrong Questions, Wrong Answers: Behavioral vs. Factual Evaluation of Reference Service," The Reference Librarian 38 (1992): 151-73.
47. June D. Parker, "Evaluating Documents Reference Service and the Implications for Improvement," Journal of Government Information 23 (Jan./Feb. 1996): 49-70; Carolyn W. Jardine, "Maybe the 55 Percent Rule Doesn't Tell the Whole Story: A User-Satisfaction Survey," College & Research Libraries 56 (Nov. 1995): 477-85.
48. June D. Parker, "Evaluating Documents Reference Service and the Implications for Improvement," Journal of Government Information 23 (Jan./Feb. 1996): 49-70; Carolyn W. Jardine, "Maybe the 55 Percent Rule Doesn't Tell the Whole Story: A User-Satisfaction Survey," College & Research Libraries 56 (Nov. 1995): 477-85.
49. Patricia Hults, "Reference Evaluation: An Overview," The Reference Librarian 38 (1992): 141-50.
50. Ibid., 143.
51. Ellen Altman, "Assessment of Reference Services," in The Service Imperative for Libraries: Essays in Honor of Margaret E. Monroe, ed. Gail A. Schlachter (Littleton, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, Inc., 1982), 169-85.
52. Ibid., 175.
53. Ibid., 181-82.
54. Successful referrals were: CIA and Bay of Pigs (seven); native artifacts (five); gasoline additive MMT (five); architect of National Museum of American Indian (three); black credit unions (two); abandoned Newfoundland communities (one); and sailing solo around the world (one). Unsuccessful referrals were: endangered plant species (seven); abandoned Newfoundland communities (four); Ritalin statistics (three); sailing solo around the world (one); and golf and CEOs (one).
55. Melissa Gross, "The Imposed Query," RQ 35 (Winter 1995): 236-43.
56. Ibid., 237.
57. Melissa Gross, "The Imposed Query: Implications for Library Service Evaluation," Reference & User Services Quarterly 37 (Spring 1998): 290-99.
58. Ibid., 291; Gross, "The Imposed Query," 242.
59. Ibid., 291; Gross, "The Imposed Query," 242.
60. Gross, "The Imposed Query: Implications for Library Service Evaluation," 291.
61. Peter Hernon and Ellen Altman, Assessing Service Quality: Satisfying the Expectations of Library Customers (Chicago: ALA, 1998).
62. Ibid., 150.
63. Ibid., 176-77.
64. Catharine G. Johnston, Beyond Customer Satisfaction to Loyalty (Ottawa, Canada: The Conference Board of Canada, 1996), 7. Quoted in Hernon and Altman, Assessing Service Quality, 149.
65. Catharine G. Johnston, Beyond Customer Satisfaction to Loyalty (Ottawa, Canada: The Conference Board of Canada, 1996), 7. Quoted in Hernon and Altman, Assessing Service Quality, 149.
66. Hernon and Altman, Assessing Service Quality, 15.
67. Ibid., 178.
68. Ibid., 148.
69. Another promising idea for putting a true value on reference service is described in David W. Harless and Frank R. Allen, "Using the Contingent Valuation Method to Measure Patron Benefits of Reference Desk Service in an Academic Library," College & Research Libraries 60 (Jan. 1999): 56-69. And even though this article specifically applies to academic libraries, it can also be useful for public libraries. Harless and Allen suggest that the concept of use value must be supplemented by trying to quantify the value of reference services "to potential users who place value on the option of seeking assistance in the event they desire such services" (67). In addition, it is necessary to ask not just actual users of reference services, but random members of the entire community served, whether or not they have used reference services at the library in the past.
70. Felicity Barringer, "Paid Newspaper Circulation in U.S. Continues to Decline," New York Times (Nov. 3, 1998), C7 [National].
71. Roma M. Harris and Victoria Marshall, "Reorganizing Canadian Libraries: A Giant Step Back from the Front," Library Trends 46 (Winter 1998): 564-80.
72. Hernon and Altman, Assessing Service Quality, 177.
73. Ibid., 177.
74. Randal C. Archibold, "Getting Tough on Teachers," New York Times Education Life (Nov. 1, 1998): 22-25, 30-31.
75. Tour, "Quest Line," 256-58.
76. Ronald J. Heckart, "Machine Help and Human Help in the Emerging Digital Library," College & Research Libraries 59 (May 1998): 250-59; John V. Richardson Jr, "Question Master: An Evaluation of a Web-based Decision-support System for Use in Reference Environments," College & Research Libraries 59 (Jan. 1998): 29-37.
77. Ronald J. Heckart, "Machine Help and Human Help in the Emerging Digital Library," College & Research Libraries 59 (May 1998): 250-59; John V. Richardson Jr, "Question Master: An Evaluation of a Web-based Decision-support System for Use in Reference Environments," College & Research Libraries 59 (Jan. 1998): 29-37.
78. Ibid., 30.