Engaging with Our Communities: Future Trends and Opportunities for Reference Services

Abstract

Libraries across the world are constantly reinventing themselves as they respond to changing community needs and the benefits and challenges posed by new and emerging technologies. This literature review was undertaken to inform a visioning and planning exercise in the Visitor Experience team at State Library of Queensland to identify opportunities and trends for the provision of engaging and relevant reference services. Four key themes are discussed in this review: changing community expectations and user behaviour, defining and measuring the impact of the modern library and reference services, offering flexibility in spaces and service delivery, and the roles of library staff and future skills sets. This review confirms that libraries, specifically reference and information services, remain in a unique position to support their communities in learning, work, recreation, creativity and innovation. The challenge for library leadership is to measure the impact of the library in their local community context.

A Study of On-the-Go Reference Service Using Mobile Technology in Library

“…The task for library leaders is to evaluate the library's influence in their local community, and there is space for further study in this field in the future. Despite the challenges of a rapidly changing world, libraries in the present era will continue to link people to knowledge, assisting them in discovering what they need and inspiring them to achieve their objectives (Thorpe, 2017). Similarly, at the present pandemic situation & lockdown libraries & librarians are offering online resources & services to their users proactively & enthusiastically.…”

What is innovative to public libraries in the United States? A perspective of library administrators for classifying innovations

“…Based on the literature on organizational innovation, we developed a set of criteria for categorizing innovations. We labelled an innovative initiative as Program innovation when it (a) requires initial and/or recurring investment, (b) has a budget which might need to be justified periodically, (c) uses human resources, and (d) caters to a specific population to meet their needs (Thorpe, 2017). For instance, after visiting the website of a Home Delivery Program, which was one of the distinct reported innovations, we confirmed that it required the concerned library to invest in it; it has a budget; it uses a combination of volunteers and librarians; and it aims to meet the needs of specific populations such as homebound, older adults..…”

Publicly Accessible Library Services to Business in the USA and Australia: A Comparison and Analysis

“…Australia's publicly accessible libraries are starting to recognise opportunities for providing greater services to start-ups and small business. Thorpe (2017) undertook an analysis of future trends and opportunities in Australian libraries, and identified providing business services, specifically incubators, in libraries as a growing trend. A 2012 Public Libraries Victoria Network report argued that Victorian libraries should increase their direct participation in local economic development through active support of small business.…”

“…It has also identified several different models of business library service delivery. With a period of extended economic recovery likely to follow the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need for business resources and services in Australian libraries increasingly acknowledged (Thorpe, 2017), what modern services and activities are likely to be crucial components of delivering business support services going forward?…”