Reference Service Policy

Mission Statement

The mission of the Glenview Public Library is to serve and promote the informational, cultural, educational, and recreational needs of all the residents of Glenview, providing access to the universe of information. The Library places special emphasis on prompt, accurate answers to questions and on the provision of a wide range of popular materials for personal use. The Library also supports students at the elementary and secondary level with appropriate materials and services. Further, the Library welcomes young children and seeks to meet the unique needs of those children and their parents.

Reference Service Mission

It is the mission of the Adult Services Department to meet these needs effectively by bringing the library's resources and potential users together through a variety of services. Reference services will be provided at all times that the library is open. The service desks will be staffed by trained staff in order to provide quality service. Every effort will be made to complete each reference transaction successfully.

Purpose of a Reference Policy

The Reference Service Policy provides library service guidelines for the staff so that patrons will receive consistently high levels of service. The policy describes library resources available to all library patrons. Each service area will have a copy of this policy at hand for reference as well as a manual covering procedures specific to that service area.

Reference Service Statements

Library Patrons

Reference Service is available to all persons served by the Glenview Public Library regardless of age, sex, religion, race, or socio-economic status.

Service Priorities

Service to the public has priority over all other tasks. Simultaneous requests will be managed at the librarian's discretion with regard to urgency, complexity and availability of staff resources. In-person, telephone, e-mail, and Internet reference requests will be handled in the order they are received. If the librarian cannot answer a request immediately, he or she will obtain contact information from the patron and see that the patron receives a response within twenty-four hours. If it becomes necessary for a librarian to leave a desk, he or she will make suitable arrangements for coverage.

Referrals to Other Libraries or Agencies

If the librarian deems it appropriate to refer the patron to another library or agency, the staff member must verify that the material is at the agency. If it is not possible to call the agency immediately, the librarian will encourage the patron to call ahead before traveling to the agency. The librarian will provide the name, address, and telephone number of the agency to the patron. The librarian will verify this information if possible.

Librarians should never refer patrons to individual practitioners -- physicians, attorneys, mental health professionals, or others.

Sources

Librarians will rely upon information obtained from reputable sources in order to give the most accurate and authoritative answers to questions. Librarians should avoid giving personal opinions, philosophy, or evaluations; rather, they should rely upon information obtained from reputable sources. The library will always cite the source of the answer.

Instruction and Orientation Services

Instruction and orientation in library use may range from basic individual and class instruction on how to use catalogs, reference tools, and the Internet to more formal assistance which can be scheduled by appointment.

Specific Reference Desk Policies

School Assignments

Homework is intended to be a learning experience for the student. The role of the librarian is one of guidance in helping students find material or potential sources of information to complete homework assignments. Librarians will make every effort to assist students in locating the material needed for a class project. The students should use the material to complete their assignments.

Contest Questions

Librarians should treat simple, factual questions in the same manner as all other reference questions. Some contest questions are tricky and might have more than one answer that seems to be correct. The library cannot guarantee that the answer provided is the the correct answer for any particular contest. Librarians should not conduct lengthy seraches or interpret contest rules.

Stock Quotations

Librarians will accept requests for stock quotations via the telephone and refer them to the magazine department on a call-back basis.

Consumer Evaluations

Librarians should help patrons locate objective product information by showing them how to use Consumer Reports and other related magazines, buying guides, and/or general indexes that may lead to product evaluations in other periodicals.

Book, Antique, and Art Appraisals

The library is not staffed with experts for making appraisals of books, works of art, antiques, coins, stamps, currency or other collectibles. Librarians should refer patrons to appropriate reference resources.

Critical Analysis of Literary Works

Librarians cannot provide personal critical analyses, interpretations, or judgments regarding the merit of literary or other works.

Genealogical Questions

Librarians should provide general assistance in genealogical research, guidance in locating items in the collection, and help in obtaining them through Interlibrary Loan. But librarians should not engage in actual genealogical research for patrons.

Translations

The library will provide brief translations only if a staff member is available with the appropriate expertise.

Compilations and Literature Searches

Librarians cannot prepare extensive compilations (bibliographies, lists, statistics, etc.) for patrons, nor can they undertake exhaustive literature searches. If patrons ask librarians to search the library's holdings on a topic and to have materials ready for them to pick up, librarians should do a quick search in library databases and/or scan periodical citations and retrieve some relevant books. Librarians will hold retrieved materials for patrons at a service desk. Librarians should offer to assist patrons in their research.

Mathematical Calculations

Librarians should not perform mathematical calculations for patrons. Librarians may read information from tables and other reference tools, but patrons should do their own calculations.

Medical and Legal Questions

The library does not provide advice or interpretation in the areas of medicine or law. Librarians cannot undertake legal searches or interpret legal reference sources. This would be regarded as practicing law.

Regarding telephone requests for medical information, librarians can only read brief definitions from authoritative sources. They should quote the sources verbatim, and they should inform the patron of the name of the quoted source.

Librarians should not provide advice in the interpretation of tax law or assistance in the selection of appropriate forms.

Patent Searches

The library can supply some information concerning patents but cannot perform complete patent searches that would be required by an inventor and usually supplied by a lawyer. Patrons must visit the Chicago Public Library, the Illinois State Library, or consult a lawyer. Copies of identified patents can be requested through the Suburban Library System's System Reference Service.

Electronic Information Retrieval

Fee-Based Searching

Librarians will use professional judgment to determine when a fee-based electronic database would be the best means of answering a question. The librarians will complete online searches within three working days of the request, and the library will subsidize these searches up to the level of twenty dollars apiece for three searches per year for Glenview cardholders.

General Searching

Librarians will use professional judgment to determine whether Internet resources are appropriate authoritative answers for questions. Librarians will offer suggestions to patrons who are using Internet workstations and will help within the limits of their expertise in determining whether a resource is authoritative. Librarians will not guarantee the validity of information retrieved from the Internet but will attempt to provide the patron with tools and contextual information that will help to evaluate the resource.

Loan of Reference Materials

The purpose of a reference collection is to assure library patrons of access to reference tools at all times that the library is open. Reference materials, therefore, will not circulate.


Approved by the Glenview Public Library Board of Trustees on April 21, 1999.