91sixteenreference Policies
Every library needs a reference policy. Not because it
will offer the framework to answer every procedural
or philosophical matter that arises, but because
it provides a basis for continuity. That is, a policy
enables the patron, as well as the librarian, to expect
that certain things will be done and likewise, that
certain things fall outside the normal expectations
of what is known as reference service.
—Bernard Vavrek, “After the Guidelines and Reference Policy”r
eFerenCe poliCies do not, as Vavrek observes in the epigraph, address
every eventuality; rather, they clarify and even codify the elements of
reference service in a particular library. They are not so much rulebooks, how-
ever, as they are outlines of services and their parameters (i.e., what services
will be provided, who will provide them, to whom will they be provided).
This chapter examines the basic components of reference policies and
discusses some of the reasons for having (and using) them. Often standards
(e.g., of services, collections, and staff behavior) are part of reference poli-
cies, and they will be considered in chapter 17. Evaluations measure, among
other things, how well standards are being met, and they will be addressed
in chapter 18.
In general, a reference policy should begin with a statement of purpose;
for example, “The purpose of the Reference Services Manual is to state guide-
lines for providing reference service in order to insure a uniform standard of
service of the highest possible quality consistent with available resources.”^1
This sentence clearly states the purpose of this institution’s reference policy—
to furnish the staff with guidelines for providing reference service. Such a