Resurrecting Reference

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Resurrecting Reference

• An Infopeople Webinar with Joan Frye Williams
  and George NeedhamJuly 31, 2008

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Librarians Love Reference

• Thrill of the chase
• Constant variety
• Fun facts
• Independence
• Gratitude
• Feel smart

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Civilians Dont

• Boring
• Takes too long
• Information doesnt solve the problem
• Dependence
• Feel stupid

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which leads to
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and raises the question of

• Denial
• Anger
• Bargaining
• Depression
• Acceptance

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What to Do?
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Cant We Just Educate These People?
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Time to Rethink
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Rethink Who?

• Reference associates
• Dispatcher

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Rethink When?

• 24/7 services
• Appointments

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Rethink Where?

• Virtual
• IM (Meebo Me, etc.)
• Wikis
• Twitter
• Co-browsing
• Roving (lurking)
• Embedded

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How The Library World Treats Civilians
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The Decline and Fall of the Expert
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What Civilians Really Want

• Convenience
• Quality
• Acknowledgement
• Ability to customize
• Respect for their time, intelligence, and
  priorities

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Social Information Discovery
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Disintermediation of Proprietary Databases
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Limitations of Current Reference Models

• Library-centered
• Process dense
• Transaction-based
• Anonymous
• Unaccountable
• One at a time
• From scratch

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Beyond the Right Answer to the Right Result

• Leverage library resources to
• Enable civilians to solve problems on their own
  terms
• for
• A reasonable investment of time, money, and
  effort.

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Reference Deconstructed

• Intercept
• Triage
• Response
• Follow-up

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Intercept

• At point of interest/need
• Integrated with other tasks
• Hip to hip
• What can we do for you?
• MLS not necessary

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Triage

• How will answer be used?
• Chunk into increments as appropriate
• Match request to appropriate library
  service/resource
• MLS not necessary

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Ready Response

• Directional
• How-to
• Referral
• MLS not necessary
• Symptomatic of need for system improvements
  scripts, signage, automation, policy
  simplification

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Upselling

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Extended Response

• Consulting
• Review/update/enhance your work
• Research
• Coaching/training
• MLS desirable

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New Relationship

• Peer-to-peer
• Shared control
• Iterative
• Inclusive
• Collaborative
• Transformative

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How Do We Define Ourselves?

• Information Transformation
• Institution Infrastructure
• Altruism Return on Investment
• Past Future
• Frill Necessity

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Ask yourself

• Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
• Can a computer do it faster?
• Is what Im offering in demand in an age of
  abundance?

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Library as a Tool for Self-Actualization
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Lay Reference
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Participatory Reference

• Work table rather than desk
• Layout, assemble, invite
• Show both information objects and relationships
  between them
• Save, revisit, and build upon previous
  collaborations

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Follow-Up

• Did response meet expectations?
• Was response useful in specific circumstances?
• Would you use this service/consult this staff
  member again?

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More Co-creationLess Desk-centricity
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What Would Librarians Accomplish if We Didnt
Spend So Much Time on Desk
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Lets Continue the Conversation

• joan_at_jfwilliams.com needhamg_at_oclc.org
• Podcasts at http//feeds.feedburner.com/InfoblogGe
  orgeAndJoan