Reference Services, its Functions and Types of Reference Services by Muhammad Yousuf Ali
1. What is Reference Service?
Reference service, sometimes referred to as ‘‘reference and information services’’ or ‘‘reader services,’’ has been defined as personal assistance provided to users in the pursuit of information. As distinguished from other library activities or services, reference service is characterized by a high degree of personal interaction between library staff members and library users (Bunge, 1999).
2. What are the main functions of Reference Services?
The American Library Association (ALA) stated the six functions of reference service:
i) Supervision function: This function consist of, Proper organization of facilities; Selection of reference materials; Direction of personnel, andStudy of the library clientele.
ii) The information function: The reference librarian should be prepared to answer all types of questions and should be able to produce source that would answer the questions. Attempts have also been made to classify questions in various ways. Reference librarian should be prepared to give assistance to the enquirer as much as he requires.
iii) The guidance function: The reference librarian should be able to give guidance to the readers in the choice of books and other reading materials and should guide them in the location of documents.
iv) The instruction function: A reference Librarian should instruct the readers about how to work in the library, the use of catalogue and reference works, the location of materials, etc. For this an orientation programme should be arranged to familiarize the readers with the library practices and procedures.
v.) The bibliographic function: The bibliographies in various subjects of interest to the readers, should be prepared by the reference staff, so that the readers are able to know the books and other reading materials in a particular subject.
vi) The appraisal function: The success in reference service largely depends upon two factors:
i) Possession of right material.
ii) Knowledge of how to get the most out of it.
3. What are the Types of Reference Services?
There are two types of reference services provided by the librarian as per Ranganathan’ mentioned (Varghese, 1991).
I) Ready Reference Service: Most of the ready reference services are of the nature of fact finding types that can be finished in a very short time – in a moment if possible. The librarian generally uses reference book for providing such kind of services. The need of ready reference services arises from the fact of the complex nature of a reference book, its artificiality, and arrangement of information. The eminent person, foreign dignitaries or scholars generally approach for such type of services. Sometimes some regular customers also need the fact finding reference service because of shortage of time on their part.
II) Long Range Reference Service: The long range Reference Service is based on consulting every possible source of information to arrive at the required information; as such, it is not possible to render this type of service immediately. The time needed may range from half an hour to weeks. The search in the long range reference service starts at the reference books and then goes to the ordinary books, pamphlets, reports, articles in periodicals, etc. If the information is not available in the library then the search can even go to other local libraries and occasionally to the other libraries in the country. Currently bibliographical services, referral service, online literature and reading guides, translation service, etc are considered long range reference services.
Cite This article :–
M.Y. Ali (22 Jan 2021). Reference Services, its Functions and Types of Reference Services. https://profileusuf.wordpress.com/reference-services-2/
References :
Bunge, C. A. (1999). Reference services. The Reference Librarian, 31(66), 185-199.
Varghese, M. M. (1991). SR Ranganathan’s Theory of Reference Service. ERIC None Journal Record ED352975 URL https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED352975
Research Knowledge and Information 