Libraries and Reference Services

It is remarkable to note that reference librarianship–the professional specialty that has reference service as its focus–had its origins in the second half of the nineteenth century, partially in response to one of that era’s most important accomplishment: the spread of education. As more people were educated, educational institutions grew in size, and the size and complexity of libraries grew as well. At the same time, changes in educational practices required more students to use their college libraries for research purposes. As the educational level of the general population rose, more people came to their local public libraries to use the collections there. Because these individuals were not skilled in library use, the need for an intermediatory between library users and library collections was gradually recognised. That intermediatory was a librarian, and within a short time, a reference librarian. The state of reference librarianship today is similar, in one respect at least, to the state of western society in the nineteenth century; that is; it is in the midst of radical change, more so than at any time in its history.