NBL Reference Toolkit

This is a list of the questions you will most frequently encounter while working at the reference desk. You should be able to answer all of them accurately. However, if you are ever unsure about answering any question, say so and if possible refer the user to a reference librarian. Refer a question to the librarian if it is likely the librarian can provide a better answer than you could or if the question concerns a patron's research strategy or the patron finds nothing substantial on the topic. 

Originally written by Tom Glynn and  Jim Niessen. Revised and amended for Douglass 10-2-14

If a client asks a difficult question, there are a number of options:

• First, look at the collection of Research Guides/LibGuides (https://libguides.rutgers.edu/) to see if we have one that will provide starting points. There are many different types of LibGuides on many different subjects, so chances are you’ll find something useful there.
• You may want to suggest that they consult the relevant subject librarian.  A list of our subject areas can be found at: https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/subject_librarians. Or: Get Help>>Make an Appointment. Depending upon the question, this is often their best bet. They can also submit a question to Ask A Librarian (Get Help>>Email) or chat reference (Get Help>>Chat).
• Finally, remember that part of our task at the desk is to educate our clients in how to use the library. Whenever possible, show the person asking a question how he or she can answer it for him or herself in the future.

Use the RAs listserv to find a substitute if you can’t take your scheduled desk hours, but please note these limitations: you must clock off for 15 minutes if you have worked five hours consecutively, and you should not work more than twenty hours per week anywhere in Rutgers while enrolled as a student. The Douglass reference desk schedule is located here ^{[dead link (April 2020)]}.

Here are some guidelines for your work as Reference Assistant:

1. Please use the graduate assistant badge that is kept in your drawer at the Information Desk.  Many of our clients like to know whether or not they are dealing with a librarian. Some may assume you are “just” a student and not working here.
2. Serving the client (library user) is your first priority.  If you’re working on a previous question or some other library task, or chatting —set that aside when you sense someone nearby.  You’d be surprised how many folks assume, if we look busy or preoccupied, that we shouldn’t be bothered!  It’s ok to do these other things when the reference traffic permits it, but always be approachable and be on the lookout.
3. If the phone is ringing while you’re helping someone, let it ring.  The person in front of you deserves your full attention.  The phone will stop ringing after awhile, at which point the caller will get a message to call back later.
4. Sometimes the best way to help someone is to go to the client’s own PC, move around, or go to the Stacks.  Our online resources and books are so extensive that it is easy to forget we have excellent print references and a recent one on the subject will include much of the references the student might otherwise spend time searching for.   
5. Spend some time with the Desk or online copy of the LC Classification Outline.  This is related to ‘going to the stacks’.  Finding an appropriate call number range (no matter what building) may facilitate a useful browse for the student.  The print stacks in Douglass are few :
   • STACKS  A-Z  (Basement through Middle Floor)
   • REF (1^ST Floor) Women’s and Gender A-Z
   • PAL REF (Behind Desk) Performing Arts A-Z
   • PLAYSCRIPTS (Behind Desk) a selection of performance scripts
6. Remember the nature of the reference interview.  If a more complex question, or even a misunderstanding, might lurk behind the client’s question as it is first stated, then slow the client down, explore the question with her/him. 
7. Record all your transactions with users on LibAnswers, and consult previous entries for a sense of previous questions and often how librarians or RAs answered them.

This manual is The NBL Reference Toolkit.  Use the toolkit for information about library policies and people across the local campuses and in individual libraries.