College and Research Libraries By L O U I S S H O R E S The Practice of Reference Mr. Shores' paper was read at the meeting of the Reference Librarians Section on June 20, at the Boston Conference. EV E R Y F R I D A Y N I G H T over a coast-to-coast hookup, a popular radio pro- gram exploits America's fundamental reference interest. T h e success of "In- formation Please" indicates the importance of questions and answers to our people and suggests the potential power of refer- ence work once it is harnessed to the nation's needs and interests. Nothing short of an insatiable curiosity on an in- finite number of subjects can account for the growing number of quiz programs and the consistent demand for such serv- ices as the Frederick Haskin Bureau dis- seminates through our daily newspapers. T h a t this national delight in questions and answers, the backbone of all reference and research, has been stimulated by world developments and by an increasing socio- logical interest at home seems certain. A t the bottom of this national curiosity about things is concern about our society and where we are headed in this mighty world revolution now under way. Social surveys, educational investigations, gov- ernmental hearings all involve the mar- shaling of facts before an objective judgment can be rendered. It is only natural therefore that this constant search for information should influence the less serious pursuits of our leisure and result in radio quiz programs, movie contests, and newspaper crossword puzzles all of which demand exacting reference service. And when to all this is added the grave business of war with its army of research workers needed to track down facts for defense, the responsibility of our reference calling appalls us. T h e r e can be no question that the changes in our educational system, our social order, our civilization are steadily thrusting the reference worker into the class of most highly demanded and skilled workers. T h e only question is whether we who practice the craft of reference are ready for the new demands to be made of us. For us the time has come to decide whether we will take our place among the skilled technicians now keenly sought by our government as well as by private agen- cies, or whether we will see a new army of workers developed outside of our library profession. Reference work as we have heretofore conceived it has probably most succinctly been defined by Richardson ( 2 6 ) * as "the finding of books and the finding of facts." But even Richardson saw the broad re- sponsibilities which this simple statement implied—mastery of sources, understand- ing of people for whom information from these sources was to be interpreted, and ability to teach others to help themselves. T o him reference work was something very much like good teaching, only def- initely superior. He saw in reference the foundation of good research. And so the * Numbers in parenthesis r e f e r to libraries and readings at the end of the article. DECEMBER., 1941 9 reference librarian to him in those days was a cross between a good research worker and a good teacher, a cross which is most often sought for in school and college faculties today. Strangely enough, ever since Richard- son's formulation of reference philosophy, American college and school teaching has been approaching his ideal of good refer- ence service. Gradually we have seen conventional classrooms give way to a sort of glorified reference procedure vari- ously called honors reading, autonomous courses, independent study with the teacher steadily forced to take on the skills of the reference librarian. In 1934 I described what I then discerned as such a development, and several colleges, not- ably St. John's at Annapolis, have all but become "Library Arts Colleges." W h a t is more, certain advanced ex- periments have already been described in our professional and in educational literature which show clearly how close to good reference work the newest educa- tion is becoming. One institution is con- templating release of its instructors from part of their teaching duties so that they may give reference service in the library. Educators Approaching Reference Concept N o w if educators on their side have been approaching the reference concept in their teaching procedures, what have we as reference librarians been doing? j F o r the most part I believe we have been con- centrating on the refinement of our tech- niques. I think many of us have been doing so with an awareness of the chang- ing educational demands and our own probable new role. But I believe for the most part we have been more concerned with the means than with the possible new ends of reference work. Letter to Reference Librarians Partly to check this assumption and partly to discover some of the more prom- ising aspects of reference practice in American libraries today, Sarah H . Griffiths, chairman of the Reference Sec- tion, and I addressed a joint informal letter to a selected group of reference librarians in college and public libraries, in which we asked for "detailed descrip- tion of projects or policies which con- tribute to efficient reference service." And we added, " O f necessity this request is somewhat general because we do not wish in any way to shut out devices, techniques, or procedures that might ap- pear to be too small or unrelated. W e wish to emphasize that anything done in your reference department, large or small, that you think other reference workers would like to know about should be in- cluded and described in your own way. " A s specific as we can be, we would like to have from you 1. A detailed description of a favorite project that has stood the test of time and has been refined until it is in good order, or 2. A policy that tends to strengthen the department and to bind the staff into a unit." O f course we realized that this was not one of those scientific inquisitions for which research in the social sciences has become justly famous, and in which you mark one thing with an " X , " a second thing with a check, and a third thing with a zero, and come out with a for- mula answer that delights the investigator and flabbergasts the practitioner. But we did realize also that in the present under- developed stage of reference literature any attempt to formalize answers in ad- 10 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES vance would defeat our purpose to ob- tain statements of reference practice as the reference practitioner of today would de- scribe these practices. Although the twenty-two libraries that replied (seventeen public, five university) do not represent a large number, they do cover a wide enough range in size and geographical location to provide a sample. And as a result of this preliminary query it is now possible to construct a more precise instrument for investigating refer- ence practice in the majority of American libraries. T h e nature of this instrument is sug- gested by the various aspects of current reference practice into which the descrip- tions of projects and statements of policies included in the twenty-two letters can be organized. Its three main divisions would deal with, I. Sources, their acquisition, organization, and interpretation II. Personnel, its in-training and in-service preparation III. Services, including fact finding, re- search, instructional, and publicity Reference Sources T h e first observation is the ever-widen- ing concept of what a reference source is. T i m e was when the four thousand titles in Mudge or the smaller collection in Kroger were looked upon as the legitimate tools of those real reference craftsmen who always found their answers. T o the pub- lic, "reference" has always meant some- thing that could not be taken out of the library. More usually we have recog- nized certain types of sources—diction- aries, encyclopedias, yearbooks, handbooks, directories, atlases, serials, indexes, and bibliographies—as pure reference books. T o d a y even this concept has been broad- ened to include a great variety of ephem- eral and serial printed matter, and the more revolutionary audio-visual aids, from pictures and museum objects tq films and radio recordings. But as in the past, certain classes of reference sources are receiving particular attention because of their frequent and characteristic use for answering questions. Chief among these collections of sources are the so-called "quick reference" tools usually placed behind the reference desk or in proximity to the information booth. These consist of yearbooks, directories, statistical and financial services, civil serv- ice manuals, receipt books, and of course, a copy of the World Almanac. Generally they are marked with a special symbol, red dot ( 8 ) , blue star ( 2 2 ) , red star, and may include genealogy and annuals. Current issues of the periodical indexes and especially heavily-used tools like Thomas' Register may be placed very near the desk ( 1 3 ) . Public libraries and especially tech- nology departments cite national defense demands as especially responsible for re- newed emphasis on trade catalog col- lections ( 6 ) . As many as eighteen thou- sand trade catalogs are reported ( 7 ) and several carefully worked out systems for making them speedily available are de- scribed. These include Princeton filing ( 1 ) or shelving in specially built bookcases with narrow upright shelves, and detailed indexing by firm and subject, either sepa- rately in the reference department, or in the main catalog ( 1 ) . A s in the past, city and telephone di- rectories are useful reference sources. From 200 to 250 of each can be found in most public libraries ( 1 6 ) and they are kept up to date either by the local telephone company ( 6 ) or through ex- change with other libraries ( 1 5 ) . DECEMBER., 1941 11 Among the other common types of reference materials that have become "favorite projects" through careful organi- zation are pictures ( n ) , clippings ( 1 3 ) , college catalogs ( 8 ) , museum objects es- pecially related to local history ( I ) , maps ( 1 2 ) , a reference document depository ( 6 ) , and a film of the local newspaper files ( 8 ) . One library boasts of twenty- nine thousand separate pictures subject- cataloged, and a collection of museum objects that includes hoop skirts and spin- ning wheels ( 1 1 ) . Organization of Materials In the organization of these materials for reference, considerable ingenuity is evidenced. Most commonly this creative ability finds expression in numerous and varied homemade indexes for which a strong local need is felt. Representative are indexes to periodicals not indexed by Wilson ( 8 ) , to the location of periodicals in the Union List of Serials ( 9 ) , local events, clubs, facts, educational opportu- nities, newspapers ( 8 ) , quotations not covered by standard reference tools ( 1 4 ) , bibliographies on useful subjects ( 1 3 ) , reference materials in nonreference sources ( 1 9 ) ( 2 1 ) , features in local newspapers ( 1 6 ) , costumes ( 8 ) , Edgar A . Guest ( 8 ) . Some of these indexes are so ingenious in detail that some description is here warranted. A useful index file ( 1 3 ) has been made up of stray, curious, frequently sought, miscellaneous, and otherwise promising facts. A "Local Book of Cur- rent Information" ( 1 6 ) features among other things the salaries of city, county, and local, state and Federal government officials, members of various boards of trust, local budgets, and so forth. In the same library local newspaper features such as columns, commentaries, and even cartoons are indexed with date and paper indicated. A n index to advertising pic- tures by subject as well as an index to other pictures by artist, nationality, title, and subject is notable. A systematic check of all local and state societies yields an up-to-date directory of officers, purposes, addresses nowhere else available ( 1 7 ) . Several libraries supplement printed sources such as the Book Review Digest, the Bibliographic Index ( 3 ) ( 2 1 ) . Serials of local interest, unindexed books, and facts later than those found in the current World Almanac are indexed, and in the last two, placed in the books themselves ( 1 1 ) . Likewise state documents are in- dexed for local references ( 1 5 ) and in the same library a glossary index by sub- ject is maintained. By means of this latter index definitions of rare terms in obscure books and monographs are res- cued from oblivion. A similar indexing enterprise undertakes to reveal obscure names of persons and places from out-of- the-way directories. Other unusual indexing projects include that of "California Mineralogists' Re- ports Arranged by Name of Mine, District, County, M i n e r a l " ( 6 ) ; second- hand catalogs which are clipped for local imprint items to answer questions about the value of patrons' attic discoveries ( 1 0 ) ; and city ordinances, another vari- ation on the local indexing theme. O n e of the most widely encouraged indexing projects is that to local educa- tional opportunities ( 1 ) . T w o copies of each school catalog are received, one for clipping and pasting on the index card and the other for filing. T h u s at a glance one can tell in how many places courses on a certain subject are offered. Biographical indexing is quite common in spite of the two current biographical 12 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES services now available, thanks to the rec- ommendation of this Reference Section. For the most part these indexes emphasize individuals "not so great" or local in reputation. One library adds death dates with rather gruesome regularity to its various "who's who's" ( 1 0 ) . Another library ( 1 7 ) questionnaired its own local authors and prepared a who's who pam- phlet for general distribution. T w o university libraries report signifi- cant indexes to reference materials in nonreference sources. One of these in- dexing projects ( 1 9 ) is confined chiefly to periodicals and does a splendid job of discovering directories, glossaries, statistics frequently lost in bound volumes of jour- nals. T h e other project ( 2 1 ) is called a "Classed Catalog of Reference Materials" and is really an index to reference ma- terials in all nonreference sources. It brings to light bibliographies in current serials, for instance, lists of theses, items in various monograph series and in stack materials. Catalog-approved analytic form is used for this indexing which thus becomes a sort of supplement to the Bib- liographic Index. In summary, reference librarians are continuing to make a major contribution to the selection and organization of refer- ence sources that cannot but aid materially all of those agencies and individuals now hotly engaged in the pursuit of stray facts and serious investigations. Reference Personnel First among the policies that tend to strengthen the department and bind the staff in a unit are frequent round tables on new reference materials ( 3 ) and on questions and problems that have arisen in the daily tasks. Strong participation by staff members in the formulation of procedures and the planning of organiza- tion is noted. Unanswered or difficult to answer questions are discussed by the staff. But most significant in the twenty-two letters is the trend in the direction of subject specialization. T h e anomaly of a walking encyclopedia equally equipped to aid research in all fields appears to be on the way out even in medium-sized public libraries. Departmentalizing and assigning of individual staff members for reference duty to the departments related to the individual's equipment ( 3 ) are accepted policy in public libraries. A n d in university libraries the tendency is to organize reference service by curriculum and research fields ( 2 2 ) . Strongly stressed by several reference librarians is the need for closer coopera- tion with the catalog department. T o o often in the opinion of one ( 2 ) the refer- ence librarian is inadequately trained in cataloging. " M y experience has been that too many library school graduates think they want to do reference work and too few have sufficient background, the ability to organize material, or sufficient knowl- edge of cataloging . . . many of them can search out information, but few of them seem able to make records that others can use. Somewhere along the line the library schools (familiar professional goats) have failed to impress their graduates with the importance of the fundamentals of cataloging and many files are suffering from this defect." Somewhat to offset this defect this cor- respondent continues, " w e are trying here to have frequent short staff meetings of all those who do reference work . . . our plan is to pool information, Jx)t call atten- tion to obscure sources, to examine all DECEMBER., 1941 13 new books, both reference and circulation, to keep a record of questions not answered satisfactorily, and to post frequently on the staff bulletin board new subjects added to the catalog and to the vertical file." Another reference head requires all of her staff members to divide their time equally between the two departments ( 2 0 ) . As she puts it, "a knowledge of the cata- log is extremely valuable to readers. A knowledge of the point of view of readers seeking information is also of value to the catalogers in their w o r k . " Since an im- portant segment of reference work in this library concerns itself with information about books, this cataloging-reference work combination provides the reference worker with good in-service bibliographic train- ing. Although the increasing emphasis on bibliographic training and subject back- ground suggests increasing awareness of the reference worker's research responsi- bilities no corresponding intimations of im- pending greater teaching responsibilities is evidenced. T r u e , university libraries are continuing variations of their freshman courses and some advanced bibliographic units for graduate students and teachers, but neither university nor public reference workers have yet succeeded in crossing the bridge that separates reference service from classroom teaching. T h e nearest thing to it reported is a high school cooperation plan ( 4 ) . Reference Services W h a t then are the services that Ameri- can reference librarians are performing? Aside from the time devoted to the organ- ization of materials and personnel for these services, answering questions and promoting use constitute the principal functions. Fact finding, research, instruc- tion, and publicity are the big four in the reference librarian's daily calendar of duties. Fact finding questions are usually de- fined as those that can be answered quickly by one specific fact, such as the population of a city, the name of a place, the birth date of a person, etc. In some libraries these "short order" reference questions are handled mostly in the circulation depart- ment ( 1 1 ) and turned over to the refer- ence department only if they require more than ten minutes search. If questions are not immediately an- swerable most reference procedures call for recording of the question on a form slip with the reader's name and the time wanted. Answers are promised later and if the patron has a phone he is called ( 1 3 ) . W h i l e the question is in the process of being answered it is kept in a visible file ( 1 1 ) or in a card quick-reference file ( 8 ) . As soon as the answer is found the reader is notified and the record filed for future reference if the question is one which sug- gests future value ( 1 6 ) . One reference librarian has even suggested that these cards containing answers be filed in the main catalog under subject ( 2 5 ) . If the assistant of whom the question was asked is unable to find the answer, he cites the sources consulted, initials the card, and hands it to the head of the de- partment who then either assigns it to other assistants in succession until the answer is found or undertakes it himself. Failure to discover a satisfactory answer leads to appeals for outside help from authorities locally by telephone and out of town by mail ( 8 ) . Continued failure results in submission to the fugitives de- partment of the Wilson Library Bulletin. A somewhat different procedure is fol- lowed with research questions. T h e dis- 14 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES tinction between reference and research is probably not clear-cut, although there is a vague feeling that the former is popu- lar and the latter scholarly. From the standpoint of the reference worker, re- search questions are the type that cannot be answered with a simple fact. T h e y involve an unlimited amount of material and time and are never liquidated although they may be satisfactorily disposed of for the purposes of the inquirer. Various policies and procedures have been formulated by reference departments. A psychologically simple and direct policy has been adopted by one department ( 1 4 ) , " G e t something into the inquirer's hands at once . . . even if it does not contain the full answer. T h i s serves to occupy him and take him away from the information desk to a chair, giving the librarian a chance to collect pertinent data for him and to take care of other patrons." Another department ( 1 0 ) has worked out an ingenious device for informing the reader who constantly leaves his seat, when his material is ready. "Cards fast- ened with Scotch tape to the upright sec- tion of a metal book end" advise the reader to inquire at the information desk for the answer to his reference question. A s for the actual searching techniques involved in locating answers and materials no department seems to have developed any such step by step routine as Carter Alexander has suggested ( 2 3 ) . Possibly this is considered too elementary for a library school graduate who is at least expected to know basic reference materials well enough to relate sources to questions instantly. T w o basic principles, however, well stated by Bagley (24) are generally accepted as necessary in handling reference questions: (a) W o r k from the simple to the complex, searching first in the more obvious, popular sources and last in the specialized out-of-the-way tools, and (b) Proceed from the broad to the specific, beginning with the general background tool rather than with the detailed mono- graph. In the course of answering questions some instruction in the use of the catalog and periodical indexes is generally given, but as one public library put it "no sys- tematic instruction is given . . . students are encouraged to do their own research" ( 1 3 ) . Instructional Projects T w o instructional projects, however, are particularly worthy of note. One is a systematic cooperative scheme developed with the high school ( 4 ) . T h e chief fea- tures are a schedule worked out with the teachers to prevent overcrowding of the public library reading room, cooperation in working out assignments, and staggered use of various reference materials. T o accomplish this the reference librarian visits the high school daily to secure and discuss assignments and to provide teach- ers with lists of reserves and other related materials. T h e last three or four years of current magazines are kept in the refer- ence room and other adjustments in the organization of the collection are made as dictated by the seasonal demands. T h e other project is a library instruc- tional program carried on for the nurses in the hospitals of the city ( 1 6 ) . W i t h some variation this program has been of- fered to other groups. One other project which provides edu- cational cooperation although it is not direct instruction is service to teachers and others carrying graduate work and writing a thesis or dissertation ( 1 ) . From the time the candidate's thesis subject is DECEMBER., 1941 15 known, the library files a card and begins to accumulate citations to all materials in the library bearing on the problem. These materials are gathered and placed at the candidate's desk upon request, where they remain until the degree has been awarded. T h e most popular methods of acquaint- ing readers with available reference serv- ices and materials is through the media of exhibits, newspapers, organizations, and reports. Significant exhibits in the fine and prac- tical arts do much to call attention to ref- erence services. T y i n g up displays of painting, sculpture, handicrafts, pottery, and so forth, with reference materials and with local individuals and groups is one publicity job undertaken by a reference department ( I ) . In the same library in- dustrial exhibits featuring products by local firms and displays of trade catalogs constitute another regular reference re- sponsibility. Garden and travel exhibits in the spring (8) and window sill displays of reference tools helpful in various con- tests (8) are other projects. A number of libraries edit for the local newspaper weekly "Information Please" departments. T h e column "Library Pa- trons W a n t to K n o w " is prepared from recorded interesting, unusual, or popular questions asked in the reference depart- ment ( 6 ) . Occasionally some questions are made up to call attention to new reference tools recently acquired. Most of the reference departments work very closely with organizations ( 1 7 ) . T a l k s to clubs, and letters and telephone calls for business people are frequent ( 8 ) . Advice to clubs in selecting topics for study, to home and business people for developing a home library, and to every one on where to buy and sell old and rare titles is almost routine ( 1 4 ) . One suburban library specializes in telephone reference service ( 5 ) and another ( 1 ) keeps a daily record of telephone calls, and publicizes them. In addition to some statistics on the number of questions answered, most refer- ence departments are now including sam- ple questions and some descriptive notes on the nature of various investigations. One library ( 1 ) culls from the daily rec- ords of questions asked, representative ones which can be grouped around an alpha- betic list of topics, such as addresses, ani- mal life, architecture, dwelling places. Summary T h e practice of reference in American libraries is on the threshold of something new and big. Librarians, educators, and research workers are all groping for some new understanding of the interrelations of their respective jobs. / Increasingly, teachers are replacing conventional class- room recitations with reference procedures, and research workers are endeavoring to master reference techniques and materials, while the reference librarian struggles to extend his usefulness to both. T o date the reference librarian's efforts have seemed to focus on further refining his organizational skills and enlarging his knowledge of materials rather than on integrating his services with social needs. He has seemed to be less concerned with initiating services to society than with improving time-worn services previously established. A s a result, others less well prepared technically have exploited the newer demands of social and educational surveys, teaching, defense, and even popu- lar curiosity. T h e real challenge confronting the ref- erence worker is in the unconventional 16 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES demand from schools, from industry, from government that has not yet been formu- lated or verbalized into a recognizable reference question. T h e real question confronting our professional group is this, " H a v e we the imagination and the cour- age to initiate an information service that will speed up emergency research? Can we bridge the gap between formal class- room and informal library with an in- structional service that will improve the learning process ? W i l l we accept the responsibility of satisfying popular curi- osity entertainingly?" Paraphrasing the "jingo" British pol- icy, " W e have the sources, we have the personnel, and we have the services too." There is no question we can undertake the broader practice of reference if we will. L I B R A R I E S A N D R E A D I N G S C I T E D Cooperating Libraries—Public 1. Bridgeport, Conn. (Sarah H. Griffiths, reference librarian) 2. Council Bluffs, Iowa (Eva T . Canon, librarian) 3. Detroit (Mabel L. Conat, reference librarian) 4. Haverhill, Mass. (Louise D. Crowell) 5. Highland Park, 111. (Mary A. Egan, librarian) 6. Long Beach, Cal. (E. H. Davis, refer- ence librarian) 7. Los Angeles (Althea Warren, librarian) 8. Louisville (Edna J. Grauman, reference librarian) 9. New York (Ralph H. Carruthers, in charge photographic service) 10. Pittsburgh (Alice Thurston McGirr, reference librarian) 11. Pomona, Cal. (Sarah M . Jacobus, librarian) 12. St. Paul, James Jerome Hill Reference Library (Helen K. Starr, librarian) 13. St. Paul Public (Irene Knapton, in charge industrial arts room) 14. Seattle (Doris L. Mitchell, reference assistant) 15. Des Moines, la. (Lucille Stull, refer- ence assistant) 16. Rochester, N . Y . (Gladys E. Love, ref- erence librarian) 17. Denver (Doris Wells, reference librar- ian) Cooperating Libraries—University 18. Indiana (Estella Wolf, reference librar- ian) 19. Wisconsin (Louis Kaplan, reference librarian) 20. Yale (Anne S. Pratt, reference librar- ian) 21. Joint University Libraries (Frances Cheney, reference librarian) 22. Teachers College, Columbia University (Clara Esther Derring, reference li- brarian) Cited Readings 23. Alexander, Carter. "Technique of Li- brary Searching." Special Libraries 27: 230-38, Sept. 1936. 24. Bagley, W . A. Facts and How to Find Them. Pitman, 1937. 25. Betten, F. S. "Catalog Is to Serve the Patron." Catholic Library World 8:1, Sept. 15, 1936. 26. Richardson, E. C. The Reference De- partment. American Library Associa- tion, 1911. DECEMBER., 1941 17