Heather Todd

Keith Webster

University of Queensland eSpace



Keith Webster
University Librarian & Director of Learning Services
Next generation reference for the next generation 
library
Heather Todd
Executive Manager, Engineering and Sciences Library Service






The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail
Keith Webster
University Librarian & Director of Learning Services
Heather Todd
Executive Manager, Engineering and Sciences Library Service
The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail
Mural I
The child Galahad, is visited by a dove bearing a 
golden censer and an angel carrying the Grail, 
the presence of which operates as sustenance 
to the infant. 
The boy is instructed in the knowledge of the 
things of the world, and in the duties and 
functions of the ideal knight. 
S R Ranganathan
1 Books are for use
2 Every reader his book
3 Every book its reader
4 Save the time of the 
reader
5 A library is a growing 
organism
Five laws of library science, 
1931
• All the five laws of library science point 
to reference service as the supreme and 
ultimate function of the library
• The happiest moment in the life of a 
librarian is the moment of his doing 
reference service
Ranganathan, Reference service and bibliography, 
1940
The functions of the reference librarian
 Instructing the reader in 
the ways of the Library
 Assisting the reader 
with his queries
 Aiding the reader in the 
selection of good works
 Promoting the Library 
within the community
Green, Personal relations between librarians and readers, 1876
“…personal 
assistance provided 
by members of the 
reference staff to 
library users in 
pursuit of 
information.”
Young et al, 1983
• Insert image
 • Information Service:
The personal assistance provided to users in the 
search of information
• Reference Transaction:
An information contact that involves the use, 
recommendation, interpretation, or instruction in the 
use of one or more information sources, or 
knowledge of such sources, by a member of the 
reference or information staff
ANSI Z39.7
Outline
• Generation 1 - collection focus - print-based - 
librarian mediated access to information 
• Generation 2 - customer focus - early end-user 
searching - librarian as teacher
• Generation 3 - experience centered - electronic 
dominance - demise of reference as we knew it
• Generation 4 - connected and social - new 
models
Generation 1
Collection-centric - 1st generation








Mural IV
The knights are about to go forth on their 
search for the Holy Grail, now formally 
instituted by King Arthur. 
“…the assumption that the hub of assistance is 
the reference desk, where a reference 
librarian, or surrogate, is available to the 
reader at all times.  The arrangement 
conveys an implicit promise never to let the 
reader go unserved, but also pegs the 
service at a low level.”
Freides, 1983
“By establishing the desk as the focal point of 
reader assistance, libraries not only expend 
professional time on trivial tasks, but also 
encourage the assumption that the low-level, 
undemanding type of question handled most 
easily and naturally at the desk is the service 
norm.”
Freides, 1983
[Library directors] assume that the vast 
majority of answers given to questions 
are accurate, the reference services 
provided are resolving the needs of the 
library’s clientele and existing staff 
competencies and skills are adequate 
and not likely to need improvement.
McClure, 1984

Miller’s problem areas
• Successful traditional reference leads to 
increasing demand
• Whilst maintaining levels of service we add 
incessantly to the reference librarian’s workload
• There is less time for professional development 
and people are falling behind (or working silly 
hours)
• Success yields only additional work, not 
additional salary or resources
Miller’s solutions
• More reference librarians!
• Information desks staffed by students and 
library assistants
• Paraprofessionals and students at the reference 
desk
• Incorporate cataloguers and others into 
reference desk schedule
• Move ancillary services (online searching, ILL) 
elsewhere
Traditional reference 
service model
Tiered service model
Revolutionary change
Victim of 
success
Fundamental 
shift
Where do we 
go?
1980s
1990s
2000s
Mural V
The inmates of the Castle of the Grail are spiritually 
dead, and although the Grail often appears in their very 
midst, they cannot see it. From this strange perpetuation 
of ineffectual life they can none of them be liberated until 
the most blameless knight shall at last arrive. The duty 
resting upon Sir Galahad is to ask what these things 
denote, but, with the presumption of one who supposes 
himself to have imbibed all knowledge, he forbears, 
considering that he is competent to guess. On his second 
visit, many years later, he is better inspired.
Generation 2
Client-focused - 2nd generation




RQ, Summer 
1992
1992: the turning point?
• Rethinking Reference Institutes
• Jerry Campbell’s article
• Reference roving at Boston College
• Jim Rettig’s Presidential year at RASD
• The Brandeis model was reported in the 
literature
The environment in 1992
• Growing numbers of users
• Growing numbers of enquiries
• More demand for (mediated or 
supported) access to electronic 
information
• Too little money
• 55 percent rule
A solution?
• The Brandeis model
• Triage
• Five levels of service
• Directional/general information
• Technical assistance
• Information “lookup”
• Research/advanced support
• Instruction/information literacy
Information 
desk
Experienced 
assistants or 
technicians
Research 
centre
Librarians or 
subject specialists
Traditional reference 
service model
Tiered service model
Revolutionary change
Victim of 
success
Fundamental 
shift
Where do we 
go?
1980s
1990s
2000s
Generation 3
Looking for educational impact.
Choice of study experiences to enable appropriate engagement with 
information.
Interacting with information printed, digital, moving media and with 
other people.
Experience-centered - 3rd generation
Spatial  experiences 
need to be 
appropriate to study 
behaviour.
Talking in booths
Reading in 
garden, by 
stream with 
fish

Mural VI
It is the morning after his visit to the Castle of 
the Grail. Awakening, Sir Galahad finds the 
castle deserted. 

University 2000 2006
 PITTSBURGH       266,376       185,356 
 CALIFORNIA, LOS 
ANGELES       279,868       100,732 
 ILLINOIS, URBANA       306,294       273,738 
 PENNSYLVANIA 
STATE       351,018       214,324 
 UTAH       364,180       246,173 
 TEXAS       384,679       229,342 
 BRIGHAM YOUNG       400,000       191,807 
 INDIANA       496,808       121,971 
Rethinking reference again
• We weren’t ready for large scale change in 
1992
• Print collections dominated
• Early electronic resources were difficult for 
many clients, often with limited computer 
skills; information skills training not widespread
• Library building design was not conducive to 
structural change
Reference service does not need to be 
rethought or reconfigured, it needs to be 
eliminated.
Ewing and Hauptman (1995), J.Ac.Lib., 21(1), p.3 
In 2007 we had papers titled “Redesign your 
reference desk: get rid of it!”; “Are reference 
desks dying out?”
Today’s library
• Steady pattern of declining reference 
transactions
• Better understanding of researchers’ 
needs
• We are beginning to see a series of 
shifts in user behaviour
• The support required of different 
disciplines is varied
However…
• Libraries operating outside student (and 
academic?) workflows
• Reference service models persist, with additional 
pressures, possibilities and demands, but limited 
additional resources
• Our huge investment in information skills training 
ought to be reducing the need for support
• The residual “reference” transaction is more 
complex than can be satisfied from an open access 
service desk
Traditional reference 
service model
Tiered service model
Revolutionary change
Victim of 
success
Fundamental 
shift
Where do we 
go?
1980s
1990s
2000s
Mural IX
Sir Galahad's entry into the castle is here 
shown. The imprisoned maidens have long 
been expecting him, for it had been prophesied 
that the perfect knight would come to deliver 
them. 


Mural XI
Having passed through many adventures, 
Sir Galahad has here returned to the 
Castle of the Grail. This time, grown wise 
by knowledge and suffering, he asks the 
Question. 
Generation 4
Connected Learning Experiences - 4th generation
Creating spaces based on pedagogy 
looking at the whole campus as a learning environment








The client environment
Information needs and behaviour
Weekly visits to the library
• 72% of students rank 
search engines as best 
choice for finding 
information
• 2% use library web site 
as starting point
• 67% learn about 
electronic resources 
from friends
• 53% rate information 
from search engines as 
trustworthy as library 
information
65
 Known user behaviour

Digital information seeking behaviour of Google 
generation
• Horizontal information seeking – 
skim viewing and then bouncing 
out
• Spend time navigating
• Power browsing – rapid scanning 
• Squirreling behaviour – lots of 
downloads – but does it get read?
• Simple searches
• Return to preferred sites eg 
Google/Yahoo
The Google generation 
• While internet ‘competent’ information literacy 
has not improved with improved access to 
technology
• Library sponsored resources – (and even the 
Library services not intuitive) – prefer to use 
simplistic solutions such as Google
By 2017
• Unified web culture that will be integrated into most 
homes
• More personalized, more mobile, more intuitive
• Electronic books will become established as primary 
format for textbooks and reference works
• Mass digitization projects 
• Increase in open access publishing 
• Changing forms or scholarship and publishing
• Semantic web/e-science
UQ Students – 2008 snapshot
• 77% have access to a laptop
• Half intended to bring to campus
• 93% have off-campus internet access
• Few have PDA’s
• Email preferred way to receive updates from 
Library
• Librarians were rated after friends and Google 
when seeking help for assignments
• Many use social networking tools
70
Social networking 
MySpace Wikipedia FaceBook Second Life
Never heard of 27 34 17 366
Heard of 268 222 69 111
Use 110 119 292 4
Use regularly 88 135 117 2
71
Key assumptions 
• Continued blending of technology related to 
research, teaching and information resources
• Google and Wikipedia will keep refining  their 
services – we are living in a Googleised world
• Social networking tools will remain popular 
• Many of us will have a ‘second life’ (80% by 2011)
• Libraries will need to offer specialist services (eg 
research support) to have a positive impact
Time for a quick break
Some reference questions to help you get 
ready for IFLA 2010 – Brisbane 
• IFLA will be held in Brisbane in 
2010 – what sort of electrical 
plugs will I need?
• What is the average 
temperature in August?
• What is a dunny?
• What do koalas eat? 
How long would it take you to 
get the answers?  Where 
would you look?
The competitive 
environment
Today’s partners? 
Today’s partners? 
Traumatic Brain Injury  
(TBI) – Some common 
disabilities include 
problems 
with….behaviour and 
mental health 
(depression, anxiety, 
personality, changes, 
aggression, acting out 
and social 
inappropriateness).
Wikipedia
Shadow - In the theory 
of C. G. Jung (1875 – 
1961) the dark aspect of 
personality formed by 
those fears and 
unpleasant emotions 
which, being rejected by 
the self or persona of 
which an individual is 
conscious, exist in the 
personal unconscious.
Oxford English 
Dictionary 
Is Wikipedia accurate – do 
students really care?
• Recent study evaluated nine Wikipedia 
articles against comparable articles in 
Encyclopaedia Britannica, The Dictionary of 
American History and American National 
Biography Online in order to compare 
Wikipedia's comprehensiveness and accuracy.
• Wikipedia's accuracy rate was 80 percent 
compared with 95-96 percent accuracy 
within the other sources.
The importance of getting 
it right!
The importance of getting 
it right!
Personalised reference 
service


The functions of the reference librarian
 Instructing the reader in 
the ways of the Library
 Assisting the reader 
with his queries
 Aiding the reader in the 
selection of good works
 Promoting the Library 
within the community
Green, Personal relations between librarians and readers, 1876
The functions of the reference librarian
 Instructing the reader in 
the ways of the Library
Green, Personal relations between librarians and readers, 1876
      Library               
“What helped you to discover 
the resources and services of 
the University of Queensland 
Library?”
84
Getting started….
• What's the one thing you wish you'd known about the 
UQ Library when you came to university?
• What saved you time when using the Library for 
researching assignments: helpful librarians, good research 
information?
• What is it about the UQ Library that makes us stand out 
from the crowd?
• A$1000 first prize
85
The winning entry
86
The winning entry
86
The functions of the reference librarian
 Assisting the reader 
with his queries
Green, Personal relations between librarians and readers, 1876



The functions of the reference librarian
 Aiding the reader in the 
selection of good works
Green, Personal relations between librarians and readers, 1876


The functions of the reference librarian
 Promoting the Library 
within the community
Green, Personal relations between librarians and readers, 1876
The demise of the desk
“…reference librarians need to begin to think 
the unthinkable, exploring alternatives and 
possibly eliminating the reference desk.”
Ford, 1986
Next generation 
reference desks/services
• Create ‘welcome/reception desks’
• Engage with Web 2.0 and social networking 
technologies
• Ensure staff have appropriate skills and 
competencies
• Engage them in the debate
• Learn from successful models eg retail stores

 4 stages of user experience
• Commodity e.g  coffee beans
• cost = 5c  
• A good cup of coffee
• cost = 25c
• Service – good service
• cost - $3.00  
• Experience – memorable experiences 
 - cost – invaluable/immeasurable but will guarantee 
customer loyalty 
99
The consumer society
• Retail customers check out shopping online first – often better 
deals, more convenient and available when it suits them
• Was last visit to reference desk:
• Memorable (for the right reasons)
• Productive
• Timely
• Engaging
• Private
• Convenient to them
• Was previous history acknowledged? 
• Follow-up 
100
In the health area
• US National Institutes for Health – increasing 
importance of ‘informationists’ – information 
specialists trained in specific subject areas
• Take the library to the researcher - work as part 
of the team
• In the UK – recent NHS study points to the 
need for more clinical librarians responsible for 
the ‘input of evidence to enable the team to function 
properly’
• Up to 800 clinical librarian posts recommended
Satisfying work
 ‘the millennial librarian wants her work to be 
meaningful and rewarding: she wants to make a 
difference ….. she wants her work to be challenging 
… the challenge for library managers is to keep the 
Millennial librarian entertained in the entry level job 
she’s bound to find herself in’
Kate Davies, 2006 
102
We need to involve our 
staff
While reformers are planning grand schemes 
for improved services for mythical patrons, 
reference librarians are helping real patrons 
with real problems.
Mural XII
Sir Galahad, borne upon a white charger. and 
followed by the blessings of the people, is seen 
passing from the land, where peace and plenty 
once more reign. 
Mural XV
As Sir Galahad gazes upon the Grail, crown, 
sceptre, and robe fall from him. He no longer 
needs them. He thanks God for having let him 
see that which tongue may not describe, nor 
heart think. The Grail itself is borne 
heavenward, and is never again seen on earth 



Next generation reference for the next generation library

http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:154935/ifla_boston_august_2008.pdf

Next generation reference for the next generation library

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