The Attitudes of Academic Reference Librarians Toward Information Brokers

Abstract

This study describes a questionnaire survey of reference librarians working at the eighty-nine academic ARL (Association for Research Libraries) member institutions in the United States. The survey was conducted to determine the extent to which information brokers use the materials available in academic reference departments, the types of sources which are consulted, and the nature of the relationship between librarians and information brokers. The data colelcted in the present study indicate that none of the personal and professional conflicts between information brokers and reference librarians that were reported in the library literature during the first half of the 1970s is either widespread or serious. Possible explanation for the change include: (1) an increased professionalism characterizing brokers; (2) the attrition of the less competent brokers; and (3) the establishment and clarification of a role for commercial providers of information which is separate from and not threatening to that of librarians.