Did you know that the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has a definition of reference? This definition considers the broader range of activities that constitute reference services in today’s libraries. Susan J. Beck, RUSA Past-President and a former Chair of the Reference Services Section (RSS) of RUSA, explains, “RUSA, the foremost organization of reference and information professionals in the world, has redefined reference to reflect the activities of the twenty-first century reference librarian to serve the needs of a new generation of information seekers.”
The definition of reference is used as the basis for measuring and assessing reference services in libraries. While previous definitions focused on mediated transactions conducted at the reference desk, the definition now includes the work that supports unmediated transactions, which constitutes much of what is done by reference librarians on a daily basis. This definition also allows for the creation of new standards used in statistics-gathering to better capture the work of today’s reference librarians.
Beck expressed the importance of standardizing the definition: “This new definition represents the core work of our profession. We encourage all professional library organizations that measure and evaluate reference transactions to adopt this definition as the standard definition of reference work. The standard definition will foster the comparison of data across institutions and within the reference profession.”
The most recent version of the definition was developed and presented to the RUSA board by members of the Reference Services Section (RSS) of RUSA:
Reference Transactions are information consultations in which
library staff recommend, interpret, evaluate, and/or use information resources
to help others to meet particular information needs. Reference transactions do
not include formal instruction or exchanges that provide assistance with
locations, schedules, equipment, supplies, or policy statements.
Reference Work includes reference transactions and other
activities that involve the creation, management, and assessment of information
or research resources, tools, and services.
Definition of terms within Reference Work:
- Creation and management of information resources includes the development and maintenance of research collections, research guides, catalogs, databases, web sites, search engines, etc., that patrons can use independently, in-house or remotely, to satisfy their information needs.
- Assessment activities include the measurement and evaluation of reference work, resources, and services.
(The most recent version was adopted at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, PA on January 14, 2008).
More information about RUSA, its Sections and reference guidelines may be found here:
RUSA Web site:
http://www.ala.org/rusa
RUSA Definitions of Reference:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/resources/guidelines/definitionsreference.cfm
RUSA Guidelines:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/resources/guidelines/index.cfm