ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 186 / C&RL News The W ay I See It Putting the “ service” back in library service B y C arol G ood son Patrons want more fro m us and we should give it F or most o f my 20-plus years as a librarianI accepted the belief that our main task was to make library users independent— a con­ cept w e now call information literacy. My eyes have been opened to the inadequacy o f this premise, however, by recent experience in op­ erating what amounts to an information bro­ kerage service for the benefit o f the nearly 2,000 distance education students at my institution. The nature o f the service is simple: in response to an off-campus student’s request (consisting only o f their research paper topic, approximate number o f sources needed, and deadline date), w e perform searches in appropriate databases and fax or e-mail the results to the individual for review. After the student marks the items that are wanted and returns the search to us, materials are pulled from the shelves, photo­ copied as necessary, and, if more items are needed, ILL requests are initiated for what w e do not have. The material is sent by Priority Mail, UPS Next Day Air, or fax, along with an invoice for photocopy and search charges. The student now has all the information he or she needs. To say that this service is appreciated is a gross understatement: they love it! G ive them w h a t they w a n t This may scandalize or perhaps even outrage some w ho are reading this, since the tradition, especially in academic libraries, has always been to teach users how to do their own research, not to do it for them. Nevertheless, I have come to believe that the level o f service w e provide to off-campus students is precisely what the majority o f users really want and what w e ought to be offering them. In the modern service economy in which w e all must now operate, the profession o f librarianship will simply not survive unless w e wake up and recognize that the era in which w e could get away with in­ sisting that customers come to our building in order to get our product is over. And if w e delude ourselves about this too much longer, I assure you that people will find ways to get their information needs met by others w ho are more accommodating. Think about it: when you compare what librarians do to the work o f other profession als, it just makes sense. When you need help with your taxes, you don’t go to a C.P.A. and ask to be taught what you need to know to do your Form 1040— o f course not! You hand over your records with relief, trusting that the C.P.A. will use his or her specialized knowledge to solve your tax problems. The analogies could be multiplied, but you get the point: w e are surely misleading library users when w e tac­ itly assure them that they can acquire the same sophisticated searching skills that librarians have after only a brief bit o f instruction at the Refer­ ence Desk or in a library instruction class— skills which w e studied on the graduate level and then perfected in advanced workshops and many years spent on the job! W ho in their right mind is going to believe that? W illing to p a y Let’s stop the endless whining about the nega­ tive stereotyping o f librarians and repeated la­ ments about our low status in the professional world. The truth is w e have only ourselves to blame because o f our dogged insistence upon pretending to users that the difficult and com­ plex w ork w e do is really easy, and by forcing people to try to learn to do their research and document retrieval themselves. Users know Carol Goodson is coordinator o f library access services at the State University o f West Georgia; e-m ail: cgoodson@westga.edu mailto:cgoodson@westga.edu March 1997 / 187 perfectly well that w e can do it better and faster, and what’s more, they want us to do it f o r them. Few have either the time or inclination to ac­ quire the skills o f a library professional in a crash course at the Reference Desk. They know w e have superior skills and knowledge and they want us to use them on their behalf. Moreover, W e are surely misleading library users w hen w e tacitly assure them that they can acquire the sam e sophisticated searching skills that librarians have after only a brief bit of instruction. I have learned from countless conversations that the majority are more than w illin g to pay for it. The number o f jobs for librarians could ac­ tually be increased if we were to add to our services options such as reasonably priced information retrieval and document delivery— and use the funds gener­ ated to hire more librarians to meet the in­ creased demand that will inevitably result. Before you start addressing your mail bombs, allow me to say that I am not suggesting w e stop teaching people how to gather informa­ tion if they want to do it themselves or can’t afford to pay us to do it for them. What I am saying is that it is no longer acceptable to de­ mand that those w ho want our product must come to a specific place to get it, then do it all themselves under our guidance. Today’s busy consumers expect to pick up the phone, recite their VISA numbers, and have the merchandise sent. Just imagine your reaction if you wanted something from J.C. Penney and the person on the other end o f the line invited you to come to the warehouse and search out the item your­ self. But w e do this all day long to those who call our Reference Desks, don’t we? Are you beginning to wonder how w e stay in business? W hat can w e rea lly do As more and more information is available on the Internet and commercial online services, librarians are in great danger o f being cut out o f the loop completely— not because people no longer need us, but because they think they no longer need us. Why not? W e have tried for years to convince them that this is true, that they can do it all themselves— and with many resources available as close as their home com­ puters, I can assure you that these are what they will use— not because they are the best materials for their needs, but simply because it’s convenient. The unique thing about librar­ ians is that w e are trained not only to find in­ formation and organize it, but also to evaluate its quality— but w e have consistently abdicated these responsibilities in misguided attempts to make libraries more and more self-service. Again, as the availability o f and access to infor­ mation technology escalates, librarians have less and less time left to show people what w e re­ ally can do for them. W e are well on our way to extinction if w e don’t start changing the way w e do things, and fast. ■ Join our virtual discussion ACRL invites you to join a virtual discus­ sion about the future o f higher education and its impact on academic libraries. ACRL has published three papers that will be dis­ cussed at its 8th National Conference in Nashville, April 11-14, on its W eb site at http://w w w .ala.org/acrl/pren dex.h tm l. Readers may post their comments before the conference. • “Electronics and the Future o f the Re­ search Library” by Eli Noam, professor o f fi­ nance and economics, Columbia University. • “Restructuring Our Universities: Focus­ ing on Student Learning” by Alan Guskin, chancellor and professor, Antioch University. • “From Serial Publications & Document D elivery to K now ledge Management” by Paul Evan Peters, late executive director o f the Coalition for Networked Information. Both Noam and Guskin will join ACRL in Nashville. A panel o f academic librarians will respond to the papers and the professors will comment on the responses. Conference registration information is a v a ila b le on the W e b site at http:// www.ala.org/acrl.html (then select National Conference), in the January issue o f C&RL News, and by contacting Darlena Davis at (8 0 0 ) 545-2433, ext. 2519; e-m ail: ddavis@ala.org; fax (312) 280-2520. http://www.ala.org/acrl/prendex.html http://www.ala.org/acrl.html mailto:ddavis@ala.org 188 / C&RL News March 1997 / 189