ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 66 6 / C&RL N e w s ■ O c to b e r 20 0 2 TH E W A Y I SEE IT Access services and RILI Great partnership opportunities b y C y ril O b e r la n d e r E v e r n o tic e th a t lib rary u s e rs h a v e a lo t to sa y at th e c ir c u la tio n o r in te rlib ra ry lo a n c o u n te r a b o u t th e c h a lle n g e s th e y e n c o u n te r w h ile lo o k in g fo r b o o k s o r articles? H o w d o w e ta k e ad v an tag e o f this te a c h a b le m om ent? H o w o f te n d o w e a s k , “D id y o u fin d e v e r y ­ th in g y ou w e re lo o k in g for?” W e m ay w a n t to a s k o u r s e lv e s w h a t r o le a c c e s s se rv ice s p lays in th e library’s re fe re n c e se rv ice and instru ctio n o r in fo rm ation literacy p rogram s. T h e lev el o f co lla b o ra tio n b e tw e e n t h e s e s e r v ic e s is c r itic a l to th e o v e r a ll e f f e c ­ tiv e n e ss o f lib raries. A lth o u g h o fte n an invis­ ible partner, a c c e s s serv ices b u n d les re fe re n ce a n d in s tru ctio n in th e te a c h a b le m o m e n ts in ­ h e r e n t to m a n y o f th e s e r v ic e tra n s a c tio n s o f circu lation , d ista n ce e d u ca tio n library serv ice, interlibrary loan, and reserves. So m e exam p les include: • circu la tio n sta ff o rie n ts n e w u sers to th e library; • circu lation staff te a ch e s users h o w to lo o k up, find, a n d retriev e library m aterials; • interlibrary loan staff exp lain s h o w to a c ­ c e s s a re q u e s te d a rticle u sin g a fu ll-te x t d a ta ­ base; • interlibrary lo a n staff h e lp s u sers lo o k up a n d r e tr ie v e d iffic u lt to fin d ite m s in th e lib r a r y ’s c o ll e c t i o n s , s u c h a s IE E E o r E RIC d ocum ents; • re s e rv e sta ff e x p la in s so m e o f th e c o p y ­ right p ro v ision s; and • d is ta n c e e d u c a tio n lib rary s e r v ic e o fte n co m b in e s th e fu n ctio n and ro le s o f a c c e s s ser­ v ices w ith re fe re n ce , inform ation literacy, and in s tr u c tio n (R IL I). A lth ou g h th e s e e x a m p le s te a c h u sers that in stru ctio n an d re fe re n c e serv ices a re n o t lim ­ ite d to th e r e fe r e n c e d e s k , lib ra ries g e n e ra lly d o not formally recognize this relationship. Con­ seq u en tly, libraries and library users o ften lack th e b e n e fits o f c o lla b o ra tio n , s u c h as c o o r d i­ n a te d serv ices, m o re effe c tiv e referral, and an u nderstand ing o f sh ared goals. O n c e w e r e c o g n iz e th e stra teg ic o p p o rtu ­ nity fo r c o lla b o ra tio n , w e s e e th at th e o v erall effe c tiv e n e ss o f instruction and re fe re n c e p ro ­ gram s and services is e n h a n ce d b y partnership w ith a c c e s s s e r v ic e s . L ik e w ise , th e e ffe c tiv e ­ n e ss and e v e n the future o f a c c e s s serv ices d e ­ p en d s o n p ro m o tin g jo in t d e v e lo p m e n ts w ith RILI. In sh o r t, in s tr u c tio n a n d r e f e r e n c e s e r ­ v ice s a re m o re e ffe c tiv e w h e n in tegrated w ith rela ted se rv ice s to p ro v id e se a m le ss a c c e s s to info rm ation . So , w h a t a re so m e s p e c ific b e n e fits o f c o l­ la b o ra tio n b e tw e e n a c c e s s se rv ice s and RILI? B e n e f it s t o r e f e r e n c e s e rv ic e s Your library’s reference service m ay already be n ­ efit fro m co lla b o ra tin g w ith a c c e s s se rv ice s as a result o f cross-trainin g, cro ss-fu n ctio n al staff m eetin gs, o r a n integrated serv ice d esk . So m e o f th e b e n e fits to re fe r e n c e s e r v ic e in clu d e: • T arg etin g re fe re n c e serv ices th ro u g h o u t th e re s e a rc h p ro ce ss . T h e re fe re n c e interview is r a r e ly e m p lo y e d a t th e e n d o f a d a y ’s r e ­ search; h o w ev er, w hile c h e c k in g o u t b o o k s , a A bout th e a u th or I Cyril Oberlander is head o f interlibrary loan a t Portland State University Library, e-mail: oberlanderc@pdx.edu mailto:oberlanderc@pdx.edu C&RL News ■ O ctober 2002 / 667 modified reference interview c an assist library users w ith assessing their research o utcom es and strategies, assist with problem solving, or determine n ext steps, such as scheduling refer­ e n c e consultations. • D eveloping n ew reference services, such as desktop delivery o f printed reference through co lla b o ra tio n w ith interlibrary lo a n (ILL), us­ ing ILL’s d esk to p delivery and re q u est m an ­ agement technology. This service could not only prom ote the use o f printed reference sources o n dem and, but it could also b e used in c o n ­ ju n ctio n w ith W eb cou rsew are to strengthen the connections between reference and instruc­ tion. Benefits to inform ation literacy Inform ation literacy program s often fo cus on the collaboration between librarians and teach­ in g facu lty , re su ltin g in lib ra ry -e n h a n c e d coursework and instruction. Most programs do little to integrate access services, ev en though staff in access services often has effective and successful service relationships with teaching faculty and students. Som e exam p les o f how your library’s information literacy program may benefit from collaborating with access services include: • S trategic co lla b o ra tio n o f instru ctional design and service. Prom ote effective integra­ tion o f teaching, learning, reference, and sup­ port services b y w orking closely together. • Strategic surveying m ethods. Surveying techniques used for assessment and evaluation o f an information literacy program or user needs rarely incorp orate the opportunities inherent to access services. For exam ple, interviews at the circulation counter can help assess students’ learning, library collection, or service needs. In addition, written surveys ca n b e a part o f the ch eck o u t process, using a b o o k strap o r ques­ tionnaire that asks for feed b ack o r answ ers to prepared questions. Benefits to instruction E v en th o u g h b ib lio g r a p h ic in s tru ctio n o f ­ te n h a s little o r n o o ff ic ia l r o le fo r a c c e s s services, acce ss services ca n sup port instruc­ tio n . In fa c t, p e r h a p s th e b e s t e x a m p le o f th a t s u p p o rt is s e e n in d is ta n c e e d u c a tio n lib ra ry s e r v ic e , w h e re th e c o lla b o r a tio n o f a c c e s s s e r v ic e s a n d RILI is in h e r e n t. E x ­ am p le s o f b e n e fits fro m fu rth er c o lla b o r a ­ tio n m ay includ e: • C o m m u n ic a tin g w ith stu d e n ts. T h e c o r e sup p ort a c c e s s serv ices p ro v id es to in­ struction is comm unication. By understanding th e instructional go a ls and services o f the li­ brary, access services can participate in instruc­ tional opportunities at service points b y offer­ ing better referrals o r providing impromptu in­ struction. Referrals m ay consist o f suggesting users talk with their subject librarian o r asking if th ey fo u n d ev ery th in g th ey w e re lo o k in g for. • C o m m u n ic a tin g w ith a ll u s e r s . A c­ cess services can m arket a library’s instruction program o r resources through notification sys­ tem s com m only used b y circulation, reserve, and interlibrary loan. Making use o f automated messaging systems, included in most OPAC and ILL management systems, is an effective means to co m m u n ica te to o u r users a b o u t n ew re ­ sources and helpful hints, o r even to encourage serendipitous connections to the library. • C o m m u n ic a tin g w ith te a c h in g f a c ­ ulty. W h eth er it is discussing the ch a llen g es o f a particular ILL requ est o r the location o f a b o o k , th e serv ice relatio n sh ip at a c ce s s ser­ v ic e s e n c o u ra g e s rap p o rt w ith faculty. T his co m m u n ica tio n ca n h elp to p ro m o te library objectives, en co u rag e library faculty co llab o ­ rations, such as assessm ent o f student and fac­ ulty n eed s, o r let faculty k n o w about n ew re­ sou rces. In ILL, for e xam p le, it is co m m o n to sh o w faculty the use o f a full-text database in o rd e r to fill a n ILL a rticle re q u est. N ot sur­ prisingly, that conversation may lead to impor­ tant exchanges about library resources and the need s o f the p rofessor and students. • C o m m u n ica tin g w ith in s tr u c tio n li­ b r a ria n s . Access serv ic e s provides important inform ation about user-collection characteris­ tic s, su c h as ILL u se rs n o t lo ca tin g fu ll-tex t articles in th e library’s datab ases, o r sp e cific user feedback, such as a library user complain­ ing to circulation that h e o r she couldn’t find a book. Sh o u ld this u se r b e re ferred to ILL to re ­ q u es t m aterials from o th er libraries o r b e re­ ferred to th e r e fe r e n c e lib rarian to ev alu ate the sea rch strategy? O r is this a un iq u e situa­ tion w h ere a p ro fesso r has asked students to find all sources o n a particular subject without ensuring the library has the co llectio n to sup­ port the num ber o f students? Com m unication b etw een departments can h elp coordinate re­ sp onses to th ese situations. 668 / C&RL News ■ O ctober 2002 Benefits to access services Many libraries report decreases in the u se o f cir­ culation and reserve services and dram atic in­ creases in the use o f full-text databases and other electronic resources. D o th ese trends indicate a problematic future for access services? W hile us­ ers receive reference assistance from access ser­ vices, increasingly, they are also getting access to full-text information at the reference desk; appar­ ently the line b etw een reference and access ser­ vices is blurring, l o o k in g at th ese trends as an opportunity to w ork tog eth er m o re effectively, libraries m ay see the following benefits: • D evelop m ent o f n ew organizational part­ nerships and tools that secure seamless access to information. • Willi m ore effective coordination or integra­ tion o f these library and user services, the various desks can better m eet the needs o f users by creat­ ing comprehensive and seamless services at points o f user needs. Conclusion and n e x t steps T h e role o f acce ss services in RILI is signifi­ c a n t b e c a u s e th e o v erall e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f li­ b rary u ser services dep ends o n the collab o ra­ tion o f library units that share co m m o n goals and related services. Form s o f collaboration o r c o o rd in a tio n d iffer at e a c h library; h o w ­ ever, to p rom ote successful partnerships and organizational development with access services and RIU, libraries may want to consider a couple n ex t steps: • E n co u ra g e d is cu ss io n . Discuss infor­ m ation literacy across library units. T h e kinds o f collaboration discussed h ere m ay grow or­ ganically from sim ply talking about the goals, challenges, and evaluations o f you r libraiγ's inform ation literacy program s and services. During th ese discussions, en couragin g o p en com m u nication and creative thinking are criti­ cal to prom oting successful collaborations. • Include access services. Invite represen­ tation from access services o n reference and in­ struction committees, teams, o r workshops. T h e grea t p a rtn ersh ip op p o rtu n ity fo r a c ­ c e s s serv ices a n d RILI is e s se n tia l to p ro m o t­ ing th e o rg an izatio n al d e v elo p m en t requ ired to m axim ize th e u sefuln ess o f library u se r ser­ v ices. T o a cco m p lish this, collab orations must exp lo re service relationships and tech n olog ies tow ards providing users w ith th e c o m p reh en ­ siv e an d s e a m le s s se rv ic e s th e y n e e d . In th e c o u r s e o f th is c o lla b o r a tio n , w e w ill c re a te lasting relationships with our users and strengthen the partnerships within our organization. ■