Academic reference librarians. Getting by with a little help from our (special, public, school, law and medical librarian) friends
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435121011093388 |
| Pages | 610-620 |
| Published date | 26 October 2010 |
| Date | 26 October 2010 |
| Author | Dianne Cmor |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Academic reference librarians
Getting by with a little help from our
(special, public, school, law and medical
librarian) friends
Dianne Cmor
Hong Kong Baptist University Library, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this viewpoint paper is to consider how academic reference librarians
might be guided by non-academic librarians as their roles shift and/or expand in a many different
directions.
Design/methodology/approach – Connections between the work of academic reference librarians
and the work of public, special, school, law and medical librarians are drawn. Areas where expertise
can be garnered are identified.
Findings – Several relevant areas of expertise from non-academic library fields are identified as
being potentially useful to academic reference librarians, depending on the priorities of their individual
institutions. As an example, the public library “service response” framework is applied to the academic
library setting.
Practical implications – Asacademic reference librarians are being asked to take on a wider range
of roles on their campuses, this paper offers a possible framework for professional development.
Originality/value – The future of academic reference librarians has not been viewed in the light of
adopting expertise from colleagues in other types of libraries on such a broad scale, and with a view to
creating a suite of services best suited to individual environments.
Keywords Librarians,Academic libraries, Reference services, Library management,
Professionaleducation
Paper type Viewpoint
Introduction
Recent trends in higher education indicate a shift (back) from specialisation to general
studies, and curriculum changes are focusing on enabling students to view issue s and
solve problems from multiple perspectives, not just from the perspective of their major.
One of the oft-cited reasons for this shift is the “changing nature of the workplace” and
the need for “creative problem solving, team work, and adaptability” (American
Association of Colleges and Universities, 2002, p. 6), especially as people change jobs
and careers more often in today’s workplace. However, it is not only that people do not
stay in the same job for 30 years anymore, but also that a job no longer stays the same
for 30 years! Academic reference librarians, like our students these days, need to be
able to step back and view issues from a perspective beyond their own comfortable
areas of specialisation.
Academic libraries have long taken advantage of the benefits of crossing
departmental boundaries within their own walls, with cataloguers serving on reference
desks, reference librarians serving on electronic access teams, and systems librarians
teaming with special collections librarians in digitising treasures. But as new
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
LM
31,8/9
610
Received 5 February 2010
Revised 10 April 2010
Accepted 29 April 2010
Library Management
Vol. 31 No. 8/9, 2010
pp. 610-620
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435121011093388
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