Research Librarianship
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Research Librarianship
Research librarians, also called reference librarians (along with a confusing array of specialized derivatives), act as intermediaries between the library user and the information they wish to access. In the age of the Internet and the search engine, there is concern that reference librarians are becoming obsolete, but as it turns out, "many Internet users have found the information glut daunting and confusing. And frequently, it's a reference librarian they turn to make sense of it[1]."
Research Librarian Role
The reference librarian used to provide specific information, such as ways to access government forms and specific texts and passages in the Reference Section of the library. As Internet access and use increases, patron are more likely to come to the reference librarian after a particularly unfruitful Internet search. "'The reference librarian's role is becoming one of being an instructor or adviser on how to find something on the Internet.'[2]" And they may direct users towards particular search engines, or have a specific URL on hand, instead of a section of the physical ecyplopaedia set on hand.
Users may appreciate and even seek for mediation in more complicated tasks such as creating a relevant and manageable data set for their research. Users may welcome any tool that libraries offer that makes the process of research from the beginning to the final product easier and faster. They will want better user interfaces for library systems. They will appreciate better bridges that will connect them with non-library systems to make library resources more easily discoverable and retrievable. They will want libraries to be an invisible interface that removes any barrier between them and information[3].
Employment Opportunities
"The number of reference specialists working in public libraries has increased by 56 percent in the past five years, according to Market Data Retrieval. Market Data's research shows that there were 2,634 reference librarians employed by public libraries in 1995. As of 2000, the number is 4,100[4]." Apparently this is good. I wonder if they are moving to public libraries because there are fewer jobs at reference libraries specifically? Or does the qualifications endowed to reference specialists enable them to land jobs at either institution and there just happens to be openings in public libraries at this time?
Average salaries for reference librarians are approximately $51,000[5].
