library:

Declining reference

One area where public libraries really are changing rather dramatically is reference.  In the per capita results we see a general decline in reference transactions, and when we look at per visitation the trend is really obvious.  

So far what we’ve seen in our data about public library users is that we have more people coming to public libraries, and they’re taking out about the same number of materials and asking a lot fewer reference questions.

Data (and Chart) Source: IMLS Public Survey Fiscal Year 2009

From what I’ve seen at my library and in the region on school assignments, many of the reference questions come from patrons with (broadly construed) special needs: either academic fine-tuned questions, or language barriers; either older people or people with developmental/emotional issues. No one just wants to know the state bird of Minnesota anymore; most people know how to find that on their own.

I also don’t see a lot of our reference materials ever getting unshelved in our collection. I’m starting to think, yeah, keep a couple of encyclopedias in reference and subscribe to some good databases, but just circulate the rest. Is this too premature of me?

Source: library