Farewell to the Reference Librarian

ABSTRACT

Now that reference research is almost exclusively an online endeavor, the traditional model of reference service—a static walk-up service point—no longer applies. Today librarians engage users at point of need, embedding research help in the context of the online research environment, while at the same time respecting the users’ preference for a transparent and unmediated experience.

KEYWORDS:

• Learning Commons
• reference collection
• reference service
• unmediated library

Notes

1. In his book What Would Google Do?, Jeff Jarvis (2009, p. 32) has a section entitled “Be a platform”: “A platform enables. It helps others build value. Any company can be a platform. Home Depot is a platform for contractors and Continental Airlines is a platform for book tours. Platforms help users create products, businesses, communities, and networks of their own.”