66 REFERENCE SERVICES
read. When you need to verify a single fact and aren’t able to visit the library or
need some advice on how to proceed when you do stop in, a competent and
courteous librarian on the line can be your best ally. Although today practi-
tioners will tell you that the number of telephone reference questions libraries
receive each day is far less than it was before the world was wired, the kinds
of queries now heard at the other end of the
line are often much more than a request for
a fact check. Callers may be on the library’s
website trying to locate a specific item or
execute a search of some kind. They may
have been unsuccessfully searching the Web
for the answer to a pressing question, or
trying to find a phone number and mailing
address on a company’s or organization’s
website. Practitioners will also tell you that
there are still people without Internet access
as well as those unfamiliar with local gov-
ernment, community services, or even the
news of the day, and they call the library
for help. This practitioner can attest to one
of the enduring qualities of telephone reference, and in fact, of any kind of
reference work—its infinite variety. Just when you think you’ve heard it all, a
caller may pose a question that stops you in your tracks.
Providing reference service by telephone requires the same skills and
qualities that are needed at the in-person reference desk—and more. All the
components of a standard reference interview (approachability, listening/
inquiring, searching, follow-up) should be in evidence when there is a patron
at the other end of the line. As might be expected, the lack of visual cues
means that the listening/inquiring component is one of utmost importance.
On the telephone, all you have is your tone of voice to convey your approach-
ability and interest to a patron. Just as you focus all your attention on the
person standing in front of you when you work at the reference desk, you
have to concentrate all your attention on the person calling, a process that may
be affected by a poor connection, an unfamiliar accent, or background noise.
Time becomes more of a factor in a telephone reference transaction than
in an in-person reference encounter, unless, of course, there is a long line in
front of the reference desk! Telephone patrons are often multitasking, and mosttelephone reference tip
It’s a good idea to jot down
a question when it comes in.
Once you put a caller on hold in
order to research the question,
it is quite possible that you will
get distracted by something or
someone at your work site, and
taking notes will help you avoid
having to get back on the phone
and ask “Now what was your
question?”http://www.ebook3000.com