1. Reference Renaissance
at the University of Southern California Libraries
Sara Tompson, Associate Dean, Public Service
Catherine Quinlan, Dean of the USC Libraries

2. Reference Renaissance: Outline
• The University of Southern California
and the USC Libraries
• Changing Paradigms & Practices
• Doheny Memorial Library

3. The USC Libraries
• 23 libraries and
information centers,
including health sciences
• 240 library faculty and
staff
• 4.2 million volumes
• E-resources (93K journals;
1.2K research databases)
• Doheny Memorial Library
(pictured) opened in 1932

4. Strategic Planning I
• The Essential Library 2008-2009.
– Planning committee
– Libraries-wide forums
– 300 objectives into 14 priorities
– Foundational
– Implementation task forces
• Customer Service – including Reference

5. Strategic Planning II
• The Essential Library 2011-2013.
– Committee of the whole; Libraries-wide
forums
– Invited speakers; broad distribution of draft
plan
– More aspirational document
– Dean’s Cabinet overseeing implementation
– “Increase our capacity to deliver, evaluate,
and improve reference services”

6. USC Libraries Vision
The USC Libraries will
be an innovative,
inspiring, and
integral partner in
the scholarly
achievements of
USC faculty,
students and staff.

7. USC Libraries Mission
The USC Libraries actively support the discovery,
creation, and preservation of knowledge.
We develop collections and services that support
and encourage the academic endeavors of
faculty, students, and staff; build a community of
critical consumers of information; and help
develop engaged world citizens.
Through these means, we contribute to the
continued success of the University of Southern
California.

8. USC Libraries Values
• Service excellence
• Integrity
• Scholarly inquiry
• Innovation
• Effective
communication
QR code for • Social responsibility
Discoverability link
• Library as place

9. Changing Paradigms and Practices:
Reference Desks
• Trends
– Rise of
Interweb
and E-
resources
– Decline in
face-to-
face (rise
in virtual)
http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/sonntag-palsson.htm

10. Changing Paradigms and Practices:
Reference Desks
• Relevance?
– Hotly debated in library literature since
1986
• Continuum: close desks change nothing
– Nolen’s 2010 "Reforming or Rejecting the
Reference Desk: Conflict and Continuity in
the Concept of Reference" in Library
Philosophy & Practice provides overview

11. Changing Paradigms and Practices:
Reference Desks
• Revalidations
– Natural swing to balance?
– Clear need for instruction in research
– 2007 ACRL panel “The Reference
Question” – some anecdotes on
renaissance
– Ubiquitous Librarian blogger, 2008:
14% of ARL Libraries saw reference
increases

12. Changing Paradigms and Practices:
Social Networking
• Electronic phenomenon – Web 2.0,
Library 2.0
– See M.E. Casey & LC. Savastinuk,
“Library 2.0” Library Journal 09/01/06
(online)
• Ripples in physical world
– “PSN”: complementing virtual reactions
with physical ones
– ACM and IEEE papers identified early on

13. Doheny Library Reference Desk
• One-stop-shop (2004+): Reference
in Circulation Consultation Room
– Less visible, despite signage
– Increased desire to retreat
– Removed from most of Reference
collection
– Usage dropped, despite hope one-stop
would boost

14. • Relocation of
Service
– User input
recommended
return to LA
Times room site
• Pilots
– Fall 2008 – 1
month – at Circ
desk
– Acad Year 09-10
in Times room

15. Doheny Desk Renaissance
• Surveys – fall 2008 & spring 2010
– Improvement in finding reference staff
– Very positive about location
– Very desirable study location (even sans
outlets)
– Large use by freshmen (a bit surprising)
– #100 sample size

16. Doheny Desk Renaissance
• Statistics
– Fall 09 over Fall 08 ~72% increase!
• Signs, stories helped
• Increased instruction sessions helped
– Fall 2010, decrease by ~ 5 ?s/day
average
– Room headcount
• Fall 2009 ~ 39% > Fall 2008
• Spring stats less dramatic, but some
increase

17. http://bit.ly/h2NHXj Conclusions
• Move a definite
success
• Virtual reference
also growing
• Hybrid reference
model for the
foreseeable future
• More groups
participating in
and with USC
Libraries in other
cquinlan@usc.edu ways as well
sarat@usc.edu
http://www.usc.edu/libraries

18. Reference Desk Renaissance: Resources
See paper for complete list.
Michael E. Casey and Laura C. Savastinuk, “Library 2.0”, Library
Journal, September 1, 2006.
The Essential Library: 2011-2013 (Los Angeles, University of
Southern California, USC Libraries, 2010),
https://www.usc.edu/libraries/essential/ .
Barbara Ford, “Reference Beyond (and without) the Reference Desk,”
College & Research Libraries 47, no.5 (September 1986): 491-494.
Brian Mathews, “While Reference Stats Decline, Oregon surges
+51%. A Glimpse at Some ARL Outliers,” The Ubiquitous Librarian
blog, December 18, 2008.

19. Reference Desk Renaissance: Resources, p.2
David S. Nolen, "Reforming or Rejecting the Reference Desk: Conflict
and Continuity in the Concept of Reference," Library Philosophy and
Practice (2010): 1-9.
Marie L. Radford and Scott Vine, “An Exploration of the Hybrid
Reference Service Model: Keeping What Works” in Reference
Reborn: Breathing New Life into Public Services Librarianship, ed.
Diane Zabel (Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited/ABC Clio, 2011).
Mark Twain. “Chapters from my Autobiography: I”. North American
Review DXCVIII, September 7, 1906.
Gabriela Sonntag and Felicia Palsson, “No Longer the Sacred Cow -
No Longer a Desk: Transforming Reference Service to Meet 21st
Century User Needs,” Library Philosophy and Practice 2007.