Managing Change in Reference and Information Services in Digital Environment

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Author(s): Shantanu Ganguly (Indus World School of Business (IWSB), India)and Shweta Pandey (Indus World School of Business (IWSB), India)
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 24
Source title: Developing Sustainable Digital Libraries: Socio-Technical Perspectives
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Tariq Ashraf (University of Delhi, India), Jaideep Sharma (Indira Gandhi National Open University, India)and Puja Anand Gulati (University of Delhi, India)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-767-1.ch009

Keywords: Digital Libraries / Information Science Reference / Library & Information Science / Library Science

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Abstract

Libraries and librarians are no longer the sole providers of reference and information services. Reference services have traditionally played a crucial role in the delivery of library services both in the public and academic spheres. However, developments in Web technologies have seen the emergence of online or digital reference services, which many initially feared sought to replace the traditional library-based personalized service. A digital library is not merely a means of access to information over the network. As long as “library” word is attached to the concept, a digital library does and should care about users and communities that are in need of information and services just like conventional libraries. “Services”, therefore, should be one of the crucial aspects of digital libraries. In the recent trend, reference services have taken a central place in library and information services. Sometimes, they are also regarded as personalized services since in most cases a personal discussion takes place between a user and a reference librarian. The librarian point to the sources that are considered to be most appropriate to meet the specific information needs of the user. Since the Web and digital libraries are meant for providing direct access to information sources and services without the intervention of human intermediaries, the pertinent question that appears is whether we need reference services in digital environment, and, if so, how best to offer such services. This chapter looks at the inevitable change taking place in the platform of reference services.

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