I watched the LJ webinar earlier today on the Evolving Role of Reference in the Wiki Age. Did anyone else catch it?
David Tyckoson, Associate Dean at California State University, Fresno, talked about the end of the traditional reference book and collection - a requiem as he called it. He described the way that we have treated reference collections in the past as the royalty of our collection, deserving premier location and status (in terms of access - always available). But where people go for information is changing, and an analysis of usage of the print reference collection at the Henry Madden Library showed low usage. A big problem with the traditional reference collection is a lack of discoverability. His solution is to circulate reference books - to make them as available as possible by integrating them into the regular collection, where people can find and use them. He argues: let the few who need a reference book really use it, how and where they need to, because they are no longer in high demand. At Henry Madden Library, they are circulating most of their reference collection for a short period, 3 days, with renewal available - and of the titles they are not circulating, only a very few do not have duplicates that do circulate.
He also described the fear librarians have that everything will be checked out if everything circulates, but argues that this is a good thing not a bad thing. It means the resources are being used! People in need of reference books generally come to the library with a topic, not looking for a specific resource, so if one title is checked out, use another or go to the electronic resources.
Also worth noting is that, despite this requiem for the reference book, reference service is alive and well, with more ways for patrons to get help than ever before. I certainly agree with him there!
It is something to consider. What do you think about circulating reference books? Is anyone doing this at their library? Do you think the reference book is dead?
-Erin
