ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 794/ C & R L News The future o f reference II: A response By Lynne Brody H ead L ibrarian, U ndergraduate L ib ra ry U niversity o f Texas a t A u stin F ra n M iksa p re s e n ts so m e p ro v o ca tiv e id eas re g a rd in g th e fu tu re o f th e a c a d e m ic re s e a rc h li­ b ra ry b a s e d on th e p re m ise th a t th e co lle ctio n - c e n te re d paradigm , c u rre n tly th e focal p o in t o f th e re s e a rc h lib rary ’s m ission, sh o u ld b e re p la c e d by a u s e r- c e n te re d m odel. H e re c o m m e n d s a shift o f a g r e a te r p ro p o rtio n o f th e lib ra ry ’s to ta l reso u rc e s (in c lu d in g co lle ctio n m oney) to p ro v id e th e p e r ­ sonnel and technological tools to p e rfo rm in -d e p th analyses o f re s e a rc h e r n e e d s a n d to d e v e lo p ex­ p a n d e d services a n d p ro g ra m s to a d d re ss th e m . Shirley E c h e lm a n , p a s t e x ecu tiv e d ire c to r o f th e A ssociation o f R e se a rc h L ib ra rie s, s u p p o rts M iksa’s p re m ise w h e n she says a b o u t re s e a rc h libraries, “w hat is n e e d e d is know ledge abo u t in fo r­ m atio n b ehavior; e x p e rt system c a p ab ilitie s for o rd e rin g a n d re o rd e rin g in fo rm a tio n to individual n e e d s; sim u latio n m e th o d o lo g ie s /in fo rm a tio n stu d ie s r a th e r th a n lib ra ry s tu d ie s .”1 E c h e lm a n does not, how ever, specify w h e re th e resources will b e fo u n d to p ro v id e m o re in -d e p th a n d expansive n e e d s a sse ssm e n t a n d services to users. A d m itted ly th e u s e r- c e n te re d p a ra d ig m w hich M iksa envisions has g rea t ap p eal to th e advocate o f m o re and b e tte r p u b lic services. H ow ever, in re a d ­ ing M iksa’s p a p e r, it occurs to m e th a t he m akes no distin ctio n am ong academ ic rese a rc h libraries and th e varian t roles played by each, n o r th e e ffe c t th a t a given r e s e a rc h lib ra ry ’s u n iq u e ro le w ith in th e re se a rc h c o m m u n ity m ay have on th e feasibility o f th e sh ift in p rim a ry focus w h ich h e ad vocates. H e d e fin e s a p a ra d ig m as “a p a tte rn , esp ecially a ty p i­ cal p a tte rn , o f behavior a n d relationships.”2 L e t m e b e g in by saying th a t, in p ra c tic a l te rm s, I q u e stio n h o w w e ll his p a ra d ig m o r m o d e l o f th e f u tu r e aca­ d e m ic re s e a rc h lib ra ry actually a p p lie s to in d iv id ­ ual re s e a rc h lib ra rie s, given th e ir com plexity a n d variability. E a c h year th e Association o f R esearch L ibraries c o lle cts a n d d is trib u te s in fo rm a tio n p ro v id e d by 1S h ir le y T. E c h e lm a n , “W hy D o A cadem ic L i­ b raries G e t S uch a B ad R a p ? ” L ib r a ry J o u rn a l 113 (O c to b e r 1,1988): 41. 2See F ran cis M iksa’s p a p e r, pp. 780-90. m e m b e r libraries, in cluding th e volum es th ey have a d d e d , th e lib ra ry ’s to ta l n u m b e r o f volum es, se ri­ als rec e iv e d , etc. T his in fo rm a tio n serves as th e basis on w hich rese a rc h libraries are c o m p a red and ran k e d — heavy em phasis p lac e d on th e total size of th e co lle ctio n . T h e m o st highly ra n k e d large aca­ d e m ic r e s e a rc h lib ra rie s b rin g p re s tig e to th e m ­ selves a n d re in fo rc e th e p re s tig e o f th e ir p a re n t in stitu tio n s . P re stig e , in tu rn , a ttra c ts c o rp o ra te a n d in d iv id u al gifts, su p p o rts facu lty a n d s tu d e n t re c ru itin g efforts, an d h elp s c a p tu re gran ts for th e library3 an d for cam p u s re s e a rc h e rs. P re stig e and high n a tio n a l ran k also p ro v id e ad d itio n a l c lo u t to library ad m in istra to rs w h e n c o m p e tin g for lim ited financial resources on university cam puses helping to a ssu re th a t th e e m in e n t r e s e a rc h lib ra ry r e ­ ceives, at th e very least, its fair sh a re o f available funding. I t is m y view th a t by v irtu e o f th e p restig e a n d n a tio n a l in flu e n c e en jo y e d by th e la rg e st aca­ d e m ic r e s e a rc h lib ra ries, th e y have a v e ste d in te r ­ e s t in c o n tin u in g th e em p h a sis on c o llectio n grow th /stren g th as th e library’s ce n tral m ission and in p ro m o tin g th is as a c o n tin u e d s h a re d value a m ong acad em ic re s e a rc h lib rary p e e rs. B eyond p restig e a n d its b y -p ro d u cts, th e largest a c ad e m ic re s e a rc h lib ra rie s a d d itio n a lly serv e a c ritic a l ro le as m ajo r r e s e a rc h re so u rc e s fo r th e ir h o m e sta te s a n d reg io n s a n d e v e n n a tio n a lly a n d in te rn a tio n a lly , d e p e n d in g on sp ecific c o llectio n stren g th s. This im p o rta n t sh a re d role played by th e larg e st m ajo r re s e a rc h lib ra rie s is o n e th a t, in my o p in io n , sh o u ld n o t a n d will n o t c h a n g e a p p re c ia ­ bly a n d m akes th e m less s u s c e p tib le to th e u se r- c e n te re d o p e ra tio n a l p arad ig m d e sc rib e d by F ra n M iksa, if th e n e w m o d el r e q u ire s re a llo c a tio n of s u b sta n tia l re s o u rc e s away fro m c o llectio n s. T his does n o t m ean th a t a m ore u s e r-c e n te re d approach sh o u ld n o t o r will n o t b e p u r s u e d vigorously in th e largest re se a rc h libraries; it m erely m eans th a t this 3L ikew ise, th e m ajo rity o f th e la rg e s t g o v e rn ­ m e n t a n d fo u n d a tio n g ra n ts m ad e to acad em ic r e s e a rc h lib ra rie s a re c o lle c tio n -c e n te re d : to e n ­ h a n c e an alread y stro n g collection, to p rovide o r to im p ro v e b ib lio g ra p h ic access to co llectio n s, to p re s e rv e co llections, e t al. O ctober 1989 / 795 approach m ust b e p u r s u e d p a ra lle l to th e lib ra ry ’s continued and substantial c o llectio n c o m m itm e n t. It also means th a t th e a d d e d n e c essa ry reso u rces will have to be o b ta in e d in o t h e r w ays— th ro u g h additional funding, th ro u g h in te r n a l savings a n d reo rd erin g o f p rio ritie s , a n d m o st im p o r ta n tly through utilization o f existing cam pus expertise and collaboration w ith o th e r c a m p u s se rv ic e ag en cies in realization o f th e g r e a te r u s e r- c e n te re d e m p h a ­ sis.4 I would suggest th a t p e rh a p s M iksa’s p a ra d ig m , as it relates to shifting m o re re so u rc e s fro m c o lle c ­ tions to u s e r- c e n te re d se rv ic es, w o u ld w o rk fo r smaller academ ic re s e a rc h lib ra rie s w ith o u t larg e collection-based p re s tig e to p re s e rv e a n d w ith o u t major regional or n atio n al re s o u rc e sh arin g roles to maintain. B ut h e re , to o , th e eco n o m ic a n d p o litic a l realities o f each in s titu tio n will g re a tly in flu e n c e how they a p p ro a c h th e u s e r - c e n t e r e d m o d e l p r e ­ scribed by Miksa. I do b e lie v e, ho w ev er, th e m ajo r shifts of th e kin d M iksa d e s c rib e s w ill m o st likely occur th ro u g h th e s h a re d e ffo rts a n d c h a n g in g p erceptions o f th e n a tio n a l a c a d e m ic re s e a rc h li­ brary co m m u n ity a n d a s sis te d by a v a ilab ility o f m ore com parative in fo rm a tio n a b o u t r e s e a rc h li­ brary services a n d th e lib rary u s e r p o p u la tio n s th a t goes beyond c o lle ctio n data. In this reg a rd , A R L can p ro v id e im p o r ta n t s u p ­ port to academ ic re s e a rc h lib ra rie s by p e rfo rm in g m ore in -d e p th analysis o f th e d a ta th e y a lre a d y collect and by collecting a n d d istrib u tin g ad d itional p e rtin en t d a ta w h ic h h e lp s p u t c o lle c tio n size a n d annual collection grow th rate s in p e rsp e c tiv e .5T h e national a c a d e m ic re s e a rc h lib ra ry le a d e rs h ip should, in my o p in io n , re a c h a c o n sen su s a b o u t th e kinds o f a d d itio n a l in fo rm a tio n w h ic h w o u ld b e o f greatest v a lu e a n d u rg e A R L to p ro v id e m o re 4U n iv e rsitie s have a variety o f acad em ic s u p p o rt agencies. E x a m p le s o f th e k in d s o f a g e n c ie s w ith which th e re s e a rc h lib ra ry m ig h t se e k m o re sh a re d expertise a n d g r e a te r c o lla b o ra tio n a re su c h as th e following at th e U n iv e rsity o f T exas at A ustin: Office o f In stitu tio n a l S tu d ie s, th e U n iv e rsity R e ­ search In stitu te , th e M e a s u re m e n t a n d E valuation C enter, th e C o m p u ta tio n C e n te r , e t al. P ossible ARL analysis w hich m ight prove useful would in clu d e: ra tio o f fu ll-tim e facu lty , g ra d u a te students, u n d e rg r a d u a te s to to ta l v o lu m es, to vol­ umes added, to c u rre n t serial subscriptions; ratio o f circulation to to ta l co lle ctio n ; ra tio o f IL S le n d in g and b o rro w in g to to ta l c o lle c tio n ; r a tio o f P h . D ’s granted to to ta l collection, volum es a d d e d , c u rr e n t serial s u b s c rip tio n s ; d o lla rs s p e n t a n n u a lly fo r in ­ formation re so u rc e s p e r u n d e rg ra d u a te , g ra d u a te , full-time faculty m e m b e r, p e r P h .D ’s g ra n te d ; re f­ erence tran sactio n s in rela tio n to p e rso n n e l, collec­ tion, etc.; d a ta b a s e s e a rc h e s p e r f o r m e d b y lib ra ry staff, e n d -u s e r se arc h e s, etc. analysis o f th e in fo rm a tio n w h ic h th e y c o lle ct. N o d o u b t th e s h ift in re s e a rc h lib ra ry p rio ritie s a n d reso u rces w h ich M iksa describes will vary in d e g re e a m o n g lib ra rie s . R e le v a n t a d d itio n a l in fo rm a tio n a b o u t p e e r in stitu tio n s w hich p laces co llection size a n d g ro w th in c o n te x t can only h e lp lib ra ry a d m in ­ is tra to rs in s u p p o rtin g th e k in d s a n d d e g re e o f c h a n g e a p p ro p r ia te to th e in d iv id u a l a c a d e m ic re s e a rc h libraiy. N o w to ex plore a n o th e r p re m ise o f F ra n M iksa’s p a p e r w h ic h is, fo r m e, e sp e c ia lly in tr ig u in g — his call fo r th e a c a d e m ic re s e a rc h lib ra ria n to s p e n d m o re tim e d e te r m in in g in d iv id u a l re s e a rc h u s e r n e e d s a n d r e s p o n d in g to th e m . H is p re m is e is th a t lib ra ria n s g e n e ra liz e to o m u c h a b o u t b r o a d u s e r g ro u p s a n d h a v e little re a l u n d e r s ta n d in g o f in d i­ v id u a l r e s e a rc h n e e d s . O n e o f M iksa’s u n d e rly in g a ssu m p tio n s is th a t m o re in -d e p th u s e r stu d ies a n d analyses will likely s u p p o rt th e shift from th e collec­ tio n -c e n te re d p a ra d ig m to a m o re se rv ic e-c en te re d m o d el; th a t th e k in d s o f s u p p o rt t h a t re s e a rc h e rs n e e d increasingly fro m th e lib ra ry a re n o t very well se rv e d by o w n e d collections n o r b y th e m ajo r share o f reso u rces re q u ire d to m aintain a n d e x te n d them . A n d y et, w h a t lib ra ria n s h e a r m o st fro m u n iv e r­ sity fa c u lty /re s e a rc h e rs re g a rd in g th e lib ra ry is h e a v ily c o lle c tio n - c e n te r e d —-th e n e e d fo r m o re serials, m o re m o n o g ra p h s, fa s te r tu rn a r o u n d tim e o n se ria ls b in d in g , m o re d u p lic a tio n o f h ea v y u se title s o n th e la rg e s t c a m p u s e s , a n d n e e d fo r c o n ­ v e n ie n t, a c c u ra te , a n d d e ta ile d b ib lio g ra p h ica l in ­ f o rm a tio n r e p r e s e n t e d in o n lin e catalo g s to im ­ p ro v e access to th e u n iv e rsity lib ra ry ’s collections. T h e s e a re so m e o f th e c o lle c tio n -b a s e d issues w hich te n d to rally th e re s e a rc h faculty. W e, in fact, h e a r very few d e m a n d s from re se a rc h e rs reg a rd in g th e n e e d fo r m o re a n d b e t t e r r e f e re n c e services to h e lp su p p o rt th e ir re se a rc h . I t is m y p e r c e p tio n th a t F r a n M iksa’s u s e r - c e n ­ te r e d p a ra d ig m , as d e v e lo p e d in his p a p e r, does n o t su c ce ssfu lly d istin g u is h b e tw e e n u s e r n e e d s a n d u s e r d e m a n d s a n d p e r c e p tio n s .6 R e s e a rc h e r d e ­ m a n d s a n d p e rc e p tio n s , in m y e x p e rie n c e , c o n ­ tin u e to fo cu s h e a v ily on th e c o lle c tio n -c e n te r e d re s e a rc h lib ra ry a n d p ro b a b ly will c o n tin u e to do so fo r so m e tim e in to th e f u tu r e . A cad em ic re s e a rc h ­ e rs, larg e ly a p r o d u c t o f e s ta b lis h e d u n iv e rsity g ra d u a te a n d professional ed u c atio n , a re tra in e d to v iew th e re s e a rc h p ro c e s s as o n e involving a larg e m ea su re o f self-reliance. Id en tifica tio n , collection, m an ip u la tio n , analysis, a n d in te g ra tio n o f inform a- 6M ichael K. B u ckland in his book L ib ra ry S erv­ ices in T h e o r y a n d in C o n te x t (N e w York: P e r g a ­ m on, 1983) d ev o tes a c h a p te r to th e s u b je c t o f u s e r d e m a n d . H e p o in ts o u t th e v ariety o f lib rary n e e d s, w a n ts, a n d d e m a n d s a n d t h e i r im p lic a tio n s for lib ra ry services. 796 / C& RL News tio n in to o n e ’s re s e a rc h is still view ed by m any as th e resp o n sib ility o f th e individual r e s e a rc h e r or rese a rc h team . W ith som e n o tab le exceptions, r e ­ se a rc h e rs m ake u se o f th e services o f re fe re n c e librarians only occasionally, in my opinion, because o f rese a rc h e rs’ p ercep tio n s about th e ir own central role in th e e n tire research process. T h e established faculty re s e a rc h e r is, in tu rn , th e te a c h e r o f th e fu tu re re s e a rc h e r, p e rp e tu a tin g in m any cases th e value o f se lf-re lia n ce in th e re s e a rc h p ro cess, d e ­ spite its growing complexity and scope o f m astery.7 O ne m ig h t sp e c u la te th a t d e s p ite th e lack o f c le a r re s e a rc h e r d e m a n d o r ex p e cta tio n , th e a c a ­ d e m ic re s e a rc h lib rary m u st a c c e p t th e m ajo r r e ­ sponsibility for m anaging th e in creasing com plex­ ity o f th e re s e a rc h process. R a th e r, I se e th e aca­ d em ic re s e a rc h lib rary playing a s h a re d role in a d d re ssin g th e g r e a te r in tric a c ie s o f in fo rm a tio n n e e d s fo r re se a rc h . I believe th a t g ra d u a te a n d professional school program s in all academ ic disci­ p lin e s m u st sh are in th is resp o n sib ility as w ell, th ro u g h refo rm in th e ir c u rricu la in o rd e r to b e tte r p r e p a r e s tu d e n ts to b e c o m e effectiv e a n d a d a p t­ able r e s e a rc h e rs . I believe th a t th e c o m p u te r c e n ­ te rs on u n iv ersity cam puses m u st also play an 7See M iksa’s discussion o f g r e a te r r e s e a rc h e r se lf-re lia n ce w h ich o c c u rre d in th e la te 19th c e n ­ tu ry as a re s u lt o f significant lib rary changes. im p o rta n t s h a re d role, c o lla b o ra tin g w ith th e r e ­ se arc h lib ra ry a n d th e various a c ad e m ic d e p a r t­ m en ts in tailo rin g tec h n o lo g y to sp ecialized r e ­ se arc h n e e d s a n d p a rtic ip a tin g in th e p re p a ra tio n o f advanced stu d e n ts to acq u ire th e m ore in -d e p th re se a rc h a n d tec h n ic a l skills th e y will need. In conclu sio n , I b e lie v e o n e m u st e x p an d th e “p a ra d ig m o f th e a c ad em ic lib ra ry o rg a n iz a tio n ” w h ich M iksa discusses in his p a p e r to th e b ro a d e r vision o f th e r e s e a rc h university. In m y view th e academ ic research library should be one im portant p a rticip a n t in addressing th e grow ing com plexities o f th e re s e a rc h p ro c e ss— w o rk in g closely w ith o th e r c a m p u s o rg an izatio n s a n d a c ad e m ic p r o ­ gram s, sharing expertise an d reso u rces, building on th e stre n g th s o f th e p a rtic ip a n ts (in clu d in g th e library’s collection), and, as ag ro u p , develo p in g th e a d d e d services a n d p ro g ram s to m e e t th e e x p an d ­ ing re s e a rc h re q u ire m e n ts .8 M oreover, librarians m u st th o ro u g h ly u n d e rs ta n d r e s e a rc h e r e x p e cta ­ tions reg a rd in g re s e a rc h su p p o rt from th e library, n o t c o n fu sin g o u r p e rc e p tio n s o f w h a t th e r e ­ s e a rc h e r n e e d s w ith w h at th e r e s e a rc h e r values m ost a b o u t th e library. 8D avid W. Lewis provides an ex cellent analysis o f th e ch an g in g a c ad em ic re s e a rc h lib ra ry in c o n ­ tex t in his “In v e n tin g th e E le c tro n ic U n iv ersity ,” College a n d R esearch L ib ra rie s 49 (July 1988): 291-304. The future o f reference II: Discussion summary By William Kopplin Reference Librarian U niversity o f Texas at A u stin T h e d e b a te following th e p a n e l’s p re s e n ta tio n s seem ed to keep retu rn in g to th re e cen tral concerns abo u t th e new p arad ig m . O ne, is th e p ro p o se d new p a ra d ig m valid? Tw o, if valid, how do th e service im plicatio n s o f th e n e w m odel c h a n g e th e tra d i­ tio n al lib rary in fra stru c tu re in such te rm s o f staff­ ing, access, and funding? And th re e , if th e re are two valid m odels o f academ ic librarianship, one collec­ tio n -b a se d a n d o n e u se r-b a se d , w h e re a re w e now in re la tio n to th e tw o m o d els? W h ile th e d e b a te flow ed b a c k an d fo rth b e tw e e n th e s e p o in ts, th e following sum m ary p re s e n ts th e c o m m e n ts in th e ­ m atic ord er. Where are we now? T h e first re sp o n se from th e a u d ie n c e im m e d i­ ately le n t w eig h t to th e validity o f th e p ro p o se d m odel. H a ro ld Billings, d ire c to r o f th e G e n e ral L ib ra rie s, n o te d th a t th e tw o m o d els w e re not necessarily in opposition b u t only th e c u rre n t e n d ­ p o in ts along a c o n tin u u m . O n a m ap, th e G e n e ral L ib ra rie s w o u ld b e b e tw e e n th e tw o p o in ts. T he c u rr e n t m ap is o n e “fre e z e -fra m e ” in an ongoing a n d endless series o f “sn a p sh o ts-in -tim e .” In a c tu ­ ality, th e library resid e s in a very dynam ic e n v iro n ­ m e n t c o n sta n tly in a sta te o f tran sitio n . T h e library