College and Research Libraries ·Research Notes Use of Nonprofessionals at Reference Desks Martin P. Courtois and Lori A. Goetsch The staffing of reference desks by non- professionals has been a subject of contro- versy in academic librarianship. The view that only professional librarians are quali- fied to provide reference service has been challenged by the fact that nonprofession- als are being used and can effectively an- swer many patron queries. Several key studies have explored both the practical and theoretical implications of this use of , nonprofessionals. Bunge's research (1967) on the relationship between library educa- tion and reference efficiency demon- strated no significant difference between nonprofessional and professional perfor- mance in answering questions accurately, although professionals took significantly less time to answer queries. 1 A questionnaire survey conducted by Boyer and Theimer (1975) concluded that nonprofessionals were used in 69 percent of small- to medium-sized academic li- braries. 2 This study was followed by an ex- amination of question-answering success by nonprofessionals, done by Halldors- son and Murfin (1977), who found that professionals were more successful than nonprofessionals in dealing with II faulty information" questions. 3 Aluri and St. Clair (1977) concluded that well-trained nonprofessionals can answer 80 percent of the questions asked at the desk. 4 In their second study (1978) 1 they examined the effect that this use of nonprofessionals might have on faculty status, library edu- cation, user instruction, and other profes- sional issues. 5 More recently, Kok and Pierce's study (1982) of questions asked at reference desks, though not directly ex- amining actual use of nonprofessionals, supports previous research in its conclu- sion that only 0.7 percent of questions are in-depth, time-consuming reference que- ries.6 . These studies have established two sig- nificant facts concerning the use of non- professionals in reference service: (1) well-trained nonprofessionals are capable of answering many, if not most, patron queries; (2) despite arguments that the use of nonprofessionals is detrimental to li- brarianship as a profession, nonprofes- sionals are being used on a regular basis to staff reference desks because of financial necessity. Since nonprofessionals are essential to providing information services, it is im- portant to look more closely at the nonpro- fessionals themselves and at the types of staffing arrangements in which they are used. In their study ten years ago, Boyer and Theimer looked at actual use, educa- tional level, on-the-job training, amount of service provided, and continuing edu- cation opportunities. Because reference service in academic libraries has changed much since then, it is necessary to reexam- ine these elements. Furthermore, an ex- Martin P. Courtois and Lori A. Goetsch are both assistant reference librarians, University Library, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60680. 385 386 College & Research Libraries pansion of their study to include term of employment, off-desk job responsibili- ties, and staffing patterns would aid refer- ence managers in making decisions on when and how to use nonprofessionals- scheduling, level of service, and selection and training. METHODOLOGY The intention was to conduct a broad · descriptive survey which would expand on Boyer and Theimer' s questions and gather more detailed information on the current use of nonprofessionals. A tele- phone interview was selected as the meth- odology that would allow maximum inter- action with respondents, thereby providing richer data than could be ob- tained through a written response and al- lowing for a better exploration of complex issues. Because of the time involved in telephone interviewing, however, the survey was conducted in Illinois with hopes that it would lay the groundwork for further research. In the summer of 1983 introductory let- ters and initial questionnaires were sent to the reference or public service librarians at sixty-nine four-year academic institutions in illinois. The letters asked that the initial questionnaires, printed on pre-addressed and stamped postcards, be returned with responses to these questions: (1) Does your library use nonprofessionals at the reference/information desk(s)? and (2) Are you willing to participate in a tele- phone interview regarding this use? Li- brarians who responded yes to both ques- tions were mailed the follow-up questionnaire. The follow-up questionnaire defined important terms and outlined questions. These guidelines gave respondents the opportunity to gather necessary factual and statistical data prior to the telephone interview. For purposes of this study, nonprofessionals are defined as library workers who do not work in a librarian, professional, or academic position. They may or may not hold a master's degree in library science. Reference/information desks are library service points that assist patrons in using and interpreting the li- September 1984 brary and, its collections. This definition includes "information" desks that pro- vide a limited scope of reference services (e.g., card catalog assistance, ready refer- ence, telephone reference) as well as the "full service" reference desk. It does not include information service provided at other library service points such as the cir- culation desk or administrative office. Also, the study is limited to reference/in- formation desks in the main library, not in branch or departmental libraries. Part one of the questionnaire asked for factual data on the institution, the number of hours the reference/information desk was staffed, and the number of hours staffed by nonprofessionals. Also, infor- mation was requested on each nonprofes- sional who staffed the desk, including job title, education, term of employment, off- desk duties, and participation in work- shops, continuing education, and depart- ment meetings. Part two consisted of questions asking the respondent to describe the staffing ar- rangement used with each nonprofes- sional, including hours, peak time vs. non-peak time coverage, and whether the professional worked the desk alone, with or without a librarian available for backup or referral. In part three, respondents were asked to indicate the types of questions nonprofes- sionals answer, the guidelines for refer- ring questions from nonprofessional to professional (and vice versa), and what was done if a nonprofessional could not answer a question. They were also asked to describe training methods used to pre- pare nonprofessionals for desk duty. Finally, in part four, respondents were asked if their use of nonprofessionals had changed within the last five years and what they felt would be the ideal staffing arrangement, in terms of professionals and nonprofessionals, for their library. RESULTS Response Of the sixty-nine initial questionnaires, forty-nine were returned within two weeks of mailing. Follow-up calls were made to elicit a total of sixty-four re- '· sponses, a 93-percent rate. Of the sixty- four institutions, thirty-nine, or 61 per- cent, indicated that nonprofessionals were used at reference/information desks. Thirty-six institutions agreed to partici- pate in the survey; thirty-three institu- tions were interviewed. From these thirty- three institutions, data were gathered on eighty nonprofessionals and fifty-six stu- dent employees. Characteristics of Nonprofessionals As shown in table 1, a majority of the nonprofessional staff (excluding students) in the libraries surveyed are college- educated. Fifty-four staff members, or 67.5 percent, have a B.A. or B.S., 11.5 per- cent have advanced degrees, and only 6 percent have no college education. Forty- one and one-half percent of the nonpro- fessionals have some library science edu- cation, but less than 10 percent have nearly completed or obtained M. L. S. de- grees. Data on how long nonprofessionals have been employed in their libraries is also reported in table 1. The majority of the nonprofessionals (78 percent) have been employed two or more years. As library employees, the nonprofes- sionals take on a variety of responsibilities other than desk duty. These tasks include nonprofessional assignments in technical processing (38 percent), interlibrary loan (28 percent), circulation (21.5 percent), and secretarial tasks (19 percent). Five per- cent participate in bibliographic instruc- tion, usually by giving tours or preparing subject bibliographies. E~ght percent par- ticipate in collection development, and 3 percent are trained in computerized litera- ture searching. Few nonprofessionals staff the desk for a large percentage of their work week. Forty-five percent spend less than five hours at the desk, and 23 percent spend five to ten hours there. Only 9.5 percent staff the desk for more than thirty hours per week. The percentage of total staffed hours that the desk is covered by nonpro- fessionals, either alone or paired with a professional, varies greatly among the in- stitutions surveyed. Among the thirty- three institutions, data were gathered .. Research Notes 387 TABLE 1 CHARACTERISTICS OF NONPROFESSIONALS No . % College Education No colle~e 5 6 Some co ege 12 15 B.A./B.S. 54 67.5 M.A./M .S. 7 9 Ph.D. 2 2.5 Total 80 100 Library School None 47 58.5 Some 26 32.5 NearMLS 2 3 MLS 5 6 Total 80 100 Employment ---- Under 2 years 17 22 2-5 J'ears 24 29.5 6-1 years 26 32.5 Over 10 years 13 16 Total 80 100 Desk Hours 1-5 hours/week 36 45 6-10 hours/week 19 24 11-20 hours/week 16 20 21-30 hours/week 1 1.5 31-40 hours/week 8 9.5 Total 80 100 from fifty-two refere:r:tce/information desks on the total hours staffed by non- professionals. Eighteen desks (36 percent) are covered by nonprofessionals less than 25 percent of the time the desk is staffed; thirteen desks (25 percent) are staffed 26-50 percent by nonprofessionals; twelve desks (23 percent), 51-75 percent by nonprofessionals; and nine desks (16 percent) are staffed 76-100 percent by nonprofessionals, including five informa- tion desks and one reference desk com- pletely staffed by nonprofessionals (table 2). TABLE2 DESK HOURS STAFFED BY NONPROFESSIONALS % of Desk Hours No. 1-25 18 26-50 13 51-75 12 75-100 9 Total 52 % 36 25 23 16 100 388 College & Research Libraries Eighty-five percent of nonprofessional staff regularly participate In departmental or library· staff meetings. A smaller per- centage (74) attend or have the opportu- nity to attend continuing education classes (although many attend classes that do not relate to library science) and job- related workshops such as OCLC train- ing. Forty-four percent have attended or would be allowed to attend job-related conferences-at least on a local, if not na- tional, level. The institutions studied have large and frequently changing student staffs; conse- quently, we did not gather precise data on student employees. Instead, reference managers provided summary information on their student workers. The composite picture shows that few graduate students are employed. In only one case did a stu- dent have library science coursework. Students who. work at reference/informa- tion desks are typically employed for less than two years and also perform circula- tion, technical processing, and shelving duties. They spend less than ten hours per week on the desk and have little opportu- nity to participate in departmental or library-related activities. Use Patterns Nonprofessional staff and students at reference/information desks frequently work alone, without a professional at the desk or on call. They not only work pre- dominantly on weekends and during late evenings but also during early morning hours, meetings, and mealtimes. Twenty- four of the thirty-three institutions (73 per- cent) follow this pattern. When respon- dents were asked to designate "peak" or "non-peak" use hours, their responses varied. Many reference managers noted that evening and weekend hours can be peak times, particularly during exams, but staffing patterns are not altered as volume of use fluctuates during these periods. Another common staffing pattern is to schedule the nonprofessional at the desk with the professional or to have the non- professional on call to assist the profes- sional at busy periods. Sixteen institutions (48.5 percent) use this pattern; ten of the September 1984 sixteen also use nonprofessionals alone without backup. In six institutions (18 per- cent), nonprofessionals are scheduled at the desk in the same manner as profes- sionals, rotating day and evening, week- day and weekend, and peak and non- peak hours. Since there are many times when non- professionals work without professional support, determining what a nonprofes- sional does when he or she cannot answer a question becomes quite important. For the most part, these situations are han- dled informally. The two most frequent approaches are to ask the patron to return to the desk (64 percent) or to have a librar- ian call the patron back (48.5 percent). Many institutions use both practices de- pending on the urgency of the patron's re- quest or on how soon a librarian will be available for consultation. In five institu- tions, there is a log in which the question is recorded and passed on to a profes- sional; otherwise, the information is com- municated orally. Another common procedure is to call the librarian at home for suggestions on how to answer the patron's query. This practice occurs in' only eight institutions, however, and six of them are small schools (enrollment less than ten thou- sand). Only one institution has a proce- dure whereby the patron can make an ap- pointment with a librarian for consultation and assistance with research problems. Finally, one institution in the survey has a professional available at vir- tually all times the library is open. Referral and Training Because nonprofessionals work alone at the desk, there is little attempt to formally define the types of questions they should or should not answer. Survey participants were mailed a description of four catego- ries of questions (directional~ instruc- tional, reference, and extended refer- ence)7 and were asked to describe what types of questions nonprofessionals an- swer. At twenty-one of the thirty-three in- stitutions (63 percent), nonprofessionals answered questions in all four categories, although many pointed out that extended reference questions are frequently re- ferred if a professional is available. The most notable comment that several refer- ence managers made is that the nonpro- fessional's skill level and experience de- termine whether that person is restricted in the types of questions he or she can an- swer. Twelve institutions (37 percent) re- sponded that they limit nonprofessionals to answering directional and instructional questions. Most said that the distinctions work fairly well in practice, although they are difficult to monitor and enforce. Com- ments ranged from a feeling that nonpro- fessionals lack the confidence to tackle ex- tended reference questions to a sense that nonprofessionals are frequently overzeal- ous and should refer more than they do. Only one institution had a fairly struc- tured means of maintaining distinctions with student workers. Limited to answer- ing only directional questions, students keep log sheets of all questions referred, and there are frequent staff discussions re- garding when referrals should be made. The more typical approach, however, is an informal one of trying to give nonpro- fessionals a sense of when a question is "beyond" them. To pursue this question further, respon- dents were asked if there are any estab- lished procedures or guidelines for screening questions or referring patrons from a nonprofessional to a librarian or vice versa. Some respondents seemed not to understand the question fully and reiterated their procedures for contacting the patron if the professional is unavail- able. After clarification, no respondents indicated that a formal system or ''team'' approach exists between the professional and the nonprofessional. One example of such an approach would be to have a li- brarian greet all patrons and refer simple reference or instructional questions to a nonprofessional. Or, all questions could be screened by a nonprofessional and those beyond a directional or instructional nature would be referred to a librarian. Some libraries develop a referral pattern similar to this by establishing separate ''information'' desks to handle directional and other simple questions in addition to a Research Notes 389 "full service" reference desk. Results indicate that it is almost always the nonprofessional who must judge when a question is beyond his or her capa- bilities and that the nonprofessional must make this decision in the absence of de- tailed guidelines and without a chance to consult a professional. One respondent did indicate that at busy times librarians will refer simple instructional questions to a nonprofessional, and two respondents commented that they hope to develop a closer and more precise working relation- ship between nonprofessionals and librar- ians. In light of the judgments nonprofes- sionals must make in deciding when tore- fer a patron to a librarian, training is an im- portant factor; however, few institutions reported having a systematic training pro- gram to prepare nonprofessionals for an- swering and referring questions. Only two institutions described what they con- sidered to be formalized training pro- grams, which include selected readings, quizzes, exercises, and departmental sem- inars on specific reference sources. Two institutions recommend but do notre- quire formal coursework in library sci- ence. Thirty-seven percent provide orien- tation for nonprofessional staff in the form of tours, procedure manuals, or training sessions on departmental or library opera- . tions. These orientations do not, how- ever, include training in specific reference sources. Seventy-three percent of the in- stitutions (including many of the institu- tions providing procedural orientations) responded that nonprofessionals learn reference sources "on the job" or by a brief period of observation at the desk. Trends for Desk Staffing When asked if their use of--nonprofes- sionals represe~ts a change from · five years ago, seventeen managers (51 per- cent) responded that t~ey are using non- professionals more than they once did. Reasons for this change include expanded services coupled with a tighter economic situation andlhe need to free profession- als to provide bibliographic instruction and computerized literature searching. 390 College & Research Libraries Also, some managers commented that the nature of reference desk use does not al- ways require the presence of a profes- sional and that desk duty is not the most efficient use of a professional's time. Thir- teen institutions (39 percent) responded that their desk staffing pattern had re- mained essentially the same. In only three institutions had the use of nonprofession- als decreased. It is interesting to note that when asked what their staffing pattern might be, sev- enteen managers (51 percent) responded that they would prefer more professionals to staff the reference desk, particularly during the evenings, weekends, and peak times currently staffed by nonprofession- als. One respondent commented that he was skeptical about the possibility of train- ing nonprofessionals to differentiate among types of questions. Six respon- dents (18 percent) said that they would prefer more well-trained nonprofession- als. Comments included: (1) it is not al- ways appropriate use of a librarian's time to be at the desk and does not help the li- brarian's job satisfaction; (2) selection and training of nonprofessionals is of the ut- . most importance; and (3) working as a nonprofessional is a good way for some- one to test his or her interest in librarian- ship before attending library school. Six respondents (18 percent) thought a ''team'' approach would be ideal, either by dividing services between an informa- tion desk staffed by nonprofessionals and a professionally staffed reference desk or by double-staffing the desk so that a non- professional would handle directional and instructional questions, thereby freeing the professional for extended reference service. CONCLUSIONS This survey suggests that nonprofes- sionals frequently staff reference desks, especially during evenings, weekends, non-peak hours, and at times when librar- ians are unavailable (meetings, confer- ences, etc.). In this way, nonprofessionals are vital in offering reference service at times when there might otherwise be no assistance available. It also may be that the September 1984 use of nonprofessionals at the desk began as a temporary or" stopgap" arrangement to meet demands for expanded services in times of limited financial resources; how- ever, they are now an integral part of the staffing pattern. What implications, then, does this use of nonprofessionals have on quality of ser- vice? Current use patterns suggested by this survey indicate that it is often the non- professional who must determine whether a reference question is beyond his or her capabilities. Many times a librar- ian is not immediately available for refer- ral or consultation. The nonprofessional must either attempt to answer the ques- tion, or the patron must wait for a re- sponse from a librarian or return at a time when a librarian is available. In the best of all possible worlds, responding to the pa- tron's request as quickly as possible would be ideal. Unfortunately, the unpre- dictable nature of reference questions and the diverse use patterns make it difficult to predict when certain types of questions will be asked. A more practical alternative might be to expand the training of nonprofessionals to include more reference-specific instruc- tion and to experiment with more formal- ized referral relationships between non- professionals and professionals. Training could include workbooks and exercises, orientation to subject areas by librarians with particular subject expertise, role- playing reference interview situations, or enrollment of nonprofessionals in a refer- ence course. 8 Likewise, experiments with multiple desks or a "team" approach would maximize use of both nonprofes- sionals and professionals and might be a useful way for reference managers to identify optimum staffing patterns for their desk(s). Finally, examining referral relationships in other professions may provide suggestions for ways in which more formalized referral relationships could be established in libraries. It may be that financial constraints and changing responsibilities of reference li- brarians will quiet the debate over the ef- fect that use of nonprofessionals will have on the status of librarians. More benefits . I ) I j might result if libraries focus on the effect that poorly trained non-professionals have on the quality of service. Properly trained nonprofessionals with an under- Research Notes 391 standing of reference service and a clear- cut referral relationship may enhance the job roles of both nonprofessionals and professionals. REFERENCES 1. Charles Bunge, "Professional Education and Reference Efficiency" (Ph.D. diss ., University of llli- nois, 1967). 2. Laura M. Boyer and William C. Theimer, Jr., "The Use and Training of Non professional Personnel at Reference Desks in Selected College and University Libraries," College & Research Libraries 36:193-200 (May ·1975). 3. Egill A. Halldorsson and Marjorie E. Murfin, "The Performance of Professionals and Nonprofes- sionals in the Reference Interview," College & Research Libraries 38:385-95 (Sept. 1977). 4. Jeffery St. Clair and Rao Aluri, "Staffing the Reference Desk: Professionals or Nonprofessionals?" Journal of Academic Librarianship 3:149-53 Guly 1977). 5. Rao Aluri and Jeffrey St. Clair, "Academic Reference Librarians: An Endangered Species?" Jour- nal of Academic Librarian~ip 4:82-84 (May 19.78). . _ . 6. Victoria T. Kok and Anton R. }='ier<;e, 'JThe Reference Desk Survey: A Manag-ement Tool in an Academic Research Library," RQ 21:181-85 (Winter 1982). 7. See reference question analysis form in St. Clair and Aluri, "Staffing the Reference Desk," p .151. 8. For further discussions of training and referral, see Kathleen Coleman and Elizabeth Margutti, ''Training Nonprofessionals for Reference Service,'' RQ 16:217-219 (Spring 1977); Halldorsson and Murfin, p.392-95; and Kok and Pierce~ Midwest Library Service You won't find more specialized service .. . anywhere College and university librarians : If there are gaps in services being rendered by your current library jobber, then Midwest Library Service may be what you're look- ing for . Midwest has specialized in service to college and university libraries for 24 years-so long that pro- viding books from even the most obscure publisher is standard practice . 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