Reference Beyond the Walls of the Library: Interacting with Faculty and Students in the 21st Century

SUMMARY

The nature of research continues to evolve from accessing print publications in a library building toward retrieving information online, any time any place. Since patrons no longer need to enter a library building to access information, the social character of reference service has also changed. Demand for face-to-face reference interaction has declined, altering the traditional one-on-one venue for teaching information retrieval and evaluation. To develop new opportunities for influencing the information literacy levels of students, librarians at Northwest Missouri State University are creating outreach strategies that facilitate increased interaction with students and faculty.

KEYWORDS:

• Reference outreach models
• remote access
• collaboration