Chapter 5: The Reference Process

This chapter focuses on the human dimension of providing reference services in archives.

It may seem like as more finding aids and records become available online that there will be less of a need for reference services, but as information sources become more abundant people will need even more assistance to locate and evaluate these sources.

Intellectual Dimensions of Reference Services

• Initial Interview

· Query abstraction

· Query resolution

· Search strategy

• Continuing Interaction

• Exit Interview

The initial interview is the interchange between the archivist and the user. This is the opportunity for the archivist to elicit information about the research project and to guide the user to the appropriate sources. During the interview it is crucial for the archivist to ask good questions (query abstraction) about the specifics of the user's needs and goals. Good questions will lead to a better understanding of the user's needs, which will help the archivist provide the best possible solution and materials.

Query resolution is the process of the archivist and the user analyzing the problem in terms of the sources available. It is vital that the reference archivist be well versed in the sources available at their repository. Once the problem has been analyzed with an eye towards available sources, it is time to formulate a search strategy.

A search strategy is a plan for resolving the problem using the sources available. The archivist will help the user identify sources that are highly relevant, others as possibly useful, and some that may be of marginal interest. A well formed search strategy can only be developed if the archivist is aware of the current holdings of the repository, the formats available, the location of the records (some may be housed offsite), and the finding aids available.

The second full stage of the archivist/user interaction is the continuing interaction. As a user works through archival materials they frequently discover new aspects of their topic, discover new names, and become aware of additional sources. It is important for the archivist to support the user during this discovery period by providing additional information about holdings or directing them to reference files to aid in the research of a new name or topic. It is important that the user see the archivist as a vital link to the repository and that questions are always welcomed. A user must feel that the records and the expertise of the staff is being made available to them.

The exit interview is the last stage of the archivist/user interaction. Though it is seldom taken advantage of, the exit interview can function as a means of evaluation of the repository's services. The archivist can discover if the services available are helpful and useful, if the user has any suggestions about services, or even preservation is needed on certain items of a record collection. The exit interview can also service as an opportunity for the archivist to gather more information about existing collections. Perhaps the user can shed light on some person not well described in the collection or identify people in a photograph. The exit interview, though often overlooked, can enhance a repository in many ways.

This three stage process is not limited to physical archivist/user interactions. Off-site interaction should also follow this process. Today users are also taking advantage of the repository via phone, mail, email, and interactive features on the repository's website. It is crucial that archivists treat these users with the same care and respect as those physical visitors to the repository.

Overall, despite expanding technologies, the archivist will always be the mediator between the collection and the user. An archivist must always remember that a repository exists for users and that those users depend on archivists to provide them with the necessary materials from that repository.