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The Future of Reference Article
Stephen Abram has written an exciting piece on the fate of reference with Evolution to Revolution to Chaos? Reference in Transition in this month’s Searcher Magazine. In the article he offers a baker’s dozen of scenerios exploring the possibilities for the future of reference in the world of libraries.
“We have a new suite of 2.0 tools focused on human needs and relationships that are changing the dynamics of the entire marketplace — not just libraries. User expectations are changing, permanently. This is a good thing, since libraries have always been about service and personal relationships with our users. The technology is just catching up with our service ethic! Now we just have to reintroduce ourselves into every aspect of the virtual world. That means focusing our staffing balance from the backroom to the front room; investing our technology decisions in ones which meet the needs of the end user; and retraining an entire segment of our library workers to adapt to a fundamental new reality.”
