Apologies if this is not the time or place to post! I am starting my second semester in my MLIS program at University of South Florida. For one of my classes, I have to interview a librarian (either over video/phone or written questions) “who provides, or has provided, reference services as a part of their job duties.”
Because this group is so awesome about STEM programming (and just awesome in general), I was hoping I might be able to interview a fellow PLIXer! My professor wants us to interview someone who has done reference services, but I was hoping to get the unique perspective from individuals who have done refence work following a PLIX-style activity. For example, maybe you ran a paper circuits program that intrigued a patron and they asked some unique questions that you have to help them answer. Or you autopsied a pickle and you had to help a child find age-appropriate references to crime scene investigations. Just the other day, I had a patron’s grandmother asking me about resources on tooth discoloration for a school science project, and it was a challenge to find materials about this (we did find some cool tooth books).
If you have a tiny bit of time I could steal, I would be extremely excited to talk to someone who has done this kind of reference work!
Hi Molly @msmithvargas ! If you have a few questions ready, could you post them here? I’ll also share this in the March newsletter. Let me know if this homework is due earlier than that!
Hi Ada! Thanks so much! The homework is due next week, but please feel free to share my questions if they can get an interesting conversation going. This is sort of an assignment that a lot of people here I think would probably enjoy reflecting on, considering how reference work is sometimes an important but overlooked part of our jobs.
These are my questions, please feel free to share. And if anyone wants to answer them (you don’t have to do them all–I wrote a lot!) I would love to hear from you!
What kind of reference work do you do/have you done in your position?
How did your career in librarianship start? Did you always intend to provide reference services?
What are the typical characteristics of your reference service users? Are you patrons mostly youth and young adults, or adults or even older adults? Do you find different groups have the same reference questions?
When you have performed reference services, what does your typical day look like?
Do you have a set process that you follow when someone requests reference services? For example, is there a source of information that is your go-to first choice?
Are there any programs that you have facilitated that increased requests for reference services (for example, someone excited for a program asks for more books about the topic to help them prepare, or someone wants to learn more after the program)?
Do you mostly provide resources in print, or are you able to also provide digital materials?
Have there ever been any reference questions that you could not answer easily? What did you do so that the patron did not leave empty-handed?
What is the most interesting reference question you have come across?
Is collaboration ever a part of your reference work?
If you do a lot of STEM programming, how does that background inform how you would help a patron with a reference question?
Have you ever had a patron ask for reference help for a school science project? Was it difficult not to get too involved in the project, or did you make suggestions to help them with their experiment?
Hi Molly! Here’s what I’ve got, for what it’s worth - take what serves, leave what doesn’t, and feel free to ask me to clarify anything!
In my current position, I mostly do reference work with children and teens, but working primarily in youth services means I am often answering reference questions for parents, teachers, and other caregivers.
I got into libraries by accident. I always had a tough time deciding on one thing I wanted to do with my life, and every career placement test they made me take was like, “maybe… a magician? A puppeteer?” and someone should really tell those test maker folks about libraries. In college, I had a friend who worked at the university library who helped me find a student job marking and processing materials, and later another friend helped me get my foot in the door as a reference page at the public library. My supervisor at the public library encouraged me to pursue my MLIS, and here I am! I’m super grateful I had that experience in reference at the public library, because it helped me identify that I did not want to work primarily with adults - teens are my jam!
The layout of my library tends to silo us pretty well - adults without kids use the reference desk upstairs, and anyone who is a kid (or teen) or is with a kid comes to us in the Children’s Department. I find there are similar threads, but adults and teens are often looking for information beyond the library - whether I’m referring them to another organization, or they’re looking for help with job searching, or something legal, or tax-related - and kids tend to be seeking information on school projects/homework or hobbies. Of course, adults are often looking for information on hobbies (though their family trees tend to be a bit more elaborate), and I have adults who come seeking help with their child’s homework, or with their own school work (mostly if they’re taking a class relating to, or pursuing a degree in a field that involves working with children). So there’s definitely overlap, but kids usually aren’t asking me to bust out the microfilm.
My current position does not involve any time at a dedicated reference desk (our Children’s Desk is more general), but previously, a shift at the reference desk would typically entail: helping patrons use library computers, assisting with library-related technology (microfilm/fiche, printing/copying/scanning/faxing, Libby and other digital content, etc.), assisting with non-library tech (word processing, sending email, changing file formats, applying for jobs on Indeed, etc.) A lot of the time folks need help navigating a government website or pursuing government assistance, so I grew pretty familiar with those websites. I would also help patrons find materials in our library, place interlibrary loan requests, and supervise the checkout and use of study rooms. We also tend to have items for patrons to borrow from the reference desk for use in house, such as phone charging cables, a USB floppy disk drive, portable DVD players, or headphones, so I’ve handled the loaning and return of those items, as well as items we have for sale - earbuds, small flash drives, etc. A shocking amount of my reference desk time involved stapler maintenance. It’s always fun to get a nice juicy genealogy question, though, or be able to teach a patron a new skill (like double-clicking a mouse)!
Honestly, not really. The questions we get at a public library are so wide and varied that I’d be here all day trying to list where I’d start for everything. The biggest thing that comes to mind is NoveList for book series order!
My monthly food programs tend to drive the odd question or two about cookbooks and our circulating food-related kits, but otherwise nothing really jumps out at me. We usually hire educational presenters or performers a few times in the summer, and if we have a magician we’ll see a spike in requests for books about magic, if we bring in animals we’ll hear a lot about those for a while, stuff like that. I know our current reference staff does a genealogy program once in a while, and that always seems to prompt further inquiry!
Again, much depends on the patron and the question! Sometimes digital resources aren’t available, or aren’t accessible to the patron. Then again, sometimes print materials - especially local history and genealogy - are rare and can’t leave the building. It’s definitely a mix!
My first public library was located in the most Democrat-leaning county in Iowa, and I got my first full-time librarian job in one of the most Republican-leaning counties in Wisconsin. The disparity in resources to help folks looking for assistance with food, housing, and even tax preparation for the elderly really blew my mind at first. It takes a bit to get to know what’s out there in your community, but the first time it happened to me, I was determined to get an answer. Sometimes I will ask for a patron’s contact info and see what I can dig up over a day or two - and in the cases when they haven’t had a phone, I’ve asked if they can come back in a few days, and had information printed out for them. I don’t have 100% of the answers 100% of the time, but someone out there does have an answer - and if the answer is that no services exist, well, I add that to the list of things to nag my electeds about (They love hearing from me!)
In my page days, one of my job duties was searching microfilm to answer requests the library received via phone or email. I once got to look up the news story about a duel someone’s ancestor got into! Over hogs! In the 1800s. Absolutely incredible.
Collaboration SHOULD! Again, I don’t know all the answers all the time, but there’s another librarian who’s been there longer and knows how to get the newspaper archive to cough up its secrets, or a local organization that’s better equipped to give a patron a rundown of their housing assistance options than I am. Collaboration makes us all stronger!
A lot of my STEM programming is very humbling. I come from an English/arts background, so it helps me keep in mind that I don’t always know what I don’t know. Patrons are the same way! The reference interview helps me figure out what they’re actually seeking, and also helps me pass the baton when there’s someone better qualified to answer a reference question.
I actually get this question pretty regularly! If it’s a school science project, I generally hope their science teacher has it covered - it’s hard to get too involved from my side of the desk. I’ve been a guest judge for a homeschool science fair many times, though, and it’s always awesome to be able to give kids feedback and hopefully spur further investigation into a topic they care about.
I hope that helps! Best of luck with the assignment
Han! You are AMAZING!!! These are extremely thoughtful and helpful answers!!!
I did have a video interview with another PLIX respondent – I had hit “reply all” in the emails but apparently did not cover my bases here. However, I am so excited to see your response and will definitely incorporate both interviews into my assignment.
I cannot thank you enough for your response!
What did the hog-duelling ancestor patron think about what you found ? What is NoveList? We don’t have that at my library! How did you like working with microfilm/fiche–we don’t have that at my library either, but I remember going to Ft. Lauderdale with my dad as a teenager to use the machines at the Broward County Libraries main branch (to look up something boring, I think , but the experience itself was fun).
(They love hearing from me!)
? What is NoveList? We don’t have that at my library! How did you like working with microfilm/fiche–we don’t have that at my library either, but I remember going to Ft. Lauderdale with my dad as a teenager to use the machines at the Broward County Libraries main branch (to look up something boring, I think 
, but the experience itself was fun).