The Future of Reference in Special Libraries Is What Information Pros Can Make It

摘要

Many years ago, the esteemed Barbara Quint offered her estimate that Google answered as many reference queries in a half-hour as all the reference librarians in the world did in seven years. I suspect that ratio is quite different now, and not for thebetter! From that insight, I was aware that reference had to be the place to watch for change and innovation in libraries. That's a major shift. Please be clear that I differentiate reference questions from the deeper research support that is our stockin trade. Reference questions usually result in answers that are mere facts, the ones that answer the questions that start with who, what, where, or when. Research support—and dare I say the more important questions— starts with how or why. The searchengine folks do find it much easier to deal with the reference end of the continuum while we library types excel at the research end—with our personal service, deeper interviews, and professional levels of metadata.