Transilvania University of Brasov
Abstract:
The most comprehensive definition of a reference department was probably provided by the American researcher Bil Katz, more than thirty years ago: “The reference department is a question-answering service”. This definition is also valid nowadays, when the term of reference department is increasingly replaced by information department. One of the well-known “reference departments” may be deemed the traditional reference system, which is “Ask the Librarian” in which the user physically and personally refers to the librarian, soliciting this way the information necessary for him. In the context of society’s development, the library has to adapt and to reorient the services that it offers to the users. University libraries have updated and have permanently developed services, through the intermediary of the Web page, offering e-mail references.
The first step taken by Romanian libraries towards the Internet’s field consisted in implementing their own web pages. Mostly, this first innovation in the framework of the library-offered services generally provided “static” information, which did not call for permanent communication efforts from librarians. Great parts of the information displayed during that period were much as: history, about the library, organization, structure, schedule, management.
The article will present the international research results obtain from Romania and interpretation data, recommendations and how we are reporting to the others participants.
Date:
default Romanian Reference Librarians - survey Nov 2011 (773.8 kB)