Managing the Quantity of Client Requests and the Quality of Parliamentary (Research and) Reference Services

Nola Adcock, Deputy Head, Information and Research Service, Commonwealth Parliamentary Library

APLA Conference, Melbourne, July 2001

Introduction

A reference and information service is one of the most visible and interactive parts of any library's service structure. It is usually the first port of call, in person, by phone or by email for many clients. For some it will be their only experience of the services provided.

Evidence of a vibrant and successful reference service has often been viewed almost solely in terms of the number of enquiries responded to per hour per week per month per year. Numbers, in particular repeat business from satisfied clients, reveal something about the perceived quality of service but not all. In many environments, especially those in which the numbers of clients are high and the quantum of dollars is shrinking, layers of access rights and a move away from personalised to self help services are used to manage demand.

Much has been published about reference services, especially the impact of electronic and online resources, but little has been published about how to assess and compare quality.

The dynamics of a parliamentary reference and information service

The Australian Parliamentary Library's reference and information service responds to a variety of demands which include:

* information required in the Chamber for speeches, questions and matters of public importance

* information required for use in parliamentary or party committees or for work as a member of a delegation
* information required for representational duties including speeches and meetings in the electorate and to assist in the understanding and investigation of constituent enquiries
* information required for personal interests including formal or informal continuing education

In the parliamentary context we know the service imperatives are special and different. When we have asked our clients they have told us exactly what is important to them. For Senators and Members in the Australian Parliament it is a personalised, tailored just in time service or, in the words of one client, 'useful amounts of useable information in a workable time frame.' We know that Senators and Members use a variety of sources of information, analysis and advice including, increasingly, electronic services but the key triggers that lead them to make use of the Australian Parliament's Information and Research Services (IRS) are time and urgency, convenience of access, comprehensive coverage of sources and references, and its credibility and independence. And, by the way, they expect us to be right every time.

What does this mean in terms of managing a robust, high quality highly interactive reference service? The rigours of accuracy, timeliness and confidentiality must be applied to the real time dynamics of a busy enquiry point where there may be little time for quiet reflection. One moment it might be conducting a detailed reference interview in order to direct the client to the relevant specialist, the next it might be helping devise a search strategy so that a client can help themselves to one of the many electronic services available and in between it might be trying to provide the answer to a seemingly straight forward question, fact or figure about any one of a multitude of general or obscure topics. There is also the expectation that all traffic will be directed in a calm and assured manner. Not everyone is suited to this.

Ultimately it is the client’s level of satisfaction with the experience that is the measure of how well the job has been done. Quality measures are complex precisely because this is a transaction between people where there is often no comprehensive written record for managers to judge and reflect upon after the event.

An interesting article about the experiences of clients requesting assistance in the use of specialised material in some Canadian research libraries seemed to have a universal message. It was the quality of the interaction with the reference staff that left the most lasting impression. On the whole, the clients were disappointed with the way they were treated. Some of the behaviours they criticised included:

* referring the client to another source or person but without any follow up to ensure that the source or person was located or that they could actually answer the question
* telling the client that they should have taken other steps or approaches before getting to this point and asking for assistance
* trying to get the client to accept more easily found information instead of what was actually needed
* warning the client to expect defeat because the topic was too large, obscure, elusive or otherwise unpromising
* taking down the request, never to be heard from again!

A Quality Model

The International Standard for Information and Documentation states that when reviewing the quality of an enquiry and reference service the prime objective is 'to assess to what extent the staff are able to fulfil the primary requirement for a good reference service, namely to provide correct answers to enquiries'. The standard then proceeds to point out that this is focussing on one aspect only and that the results may be influenced by 'the staff's communication skills and the quality, variety and accessibility of reference works and databases'.

A project initiated in Victoria by the CAVAL Reference Interest Group has sought to provide a framework for assessing the quality and effectiveness of a reference service which takes into account these key variables. The brief of the CAVAL working group was to move ‘beyond the simplistic tallying of numbers of reference queries and also beyond seemingly superficial Likertscale ratings of user satisfaction in order to better understand the components of quality reference service'. The project was initiated for academic libraries but a workshop late last year invited wider participation to discuss the validity of the quality model for reference services across sectors.

The ASK model looks at three clusters or dimensions of indicators:

The Attributes dimension comprises those professional and personal qualities that enable reference staff to deliver a customer-focussed service, balancing the needs of clients with service policies. This dimension includes their level of communication, analytical, training and interpersonal skills.

The Support dimension encompasses the organisational infrastructure that assists the professional work of the reference staff including adequate staffing levels, staff participation in policy and planning sessions and reliability of information technology systems.

The Knowledge dimension comprises characteristics with which reference services are most commonly associated such as the provision of relevant information, the expert knowledge of resources, collections and databases.

Managing a quality reference service

Applying this framework to the parliamentary environment, and the IRS in particular, managing a quality reference and information service means actively promoting a number of key individual and group characteristics.

Quality personal attributes

* Selection processes need to place excellent interpersonal and communication skills at the top of the list of selection criteria. While training, encouragement and mentoring can soften the edges, those with these skills appear to be born rather than made. When selecting staff, added emphasis should be placed on behavioural situations to draw out approaches and modes of reasoning rather than proscriptive right/wrong responses.

* IRS information specialists work in a variety of team situations and are therefore provided with numerous opportunities to hone their inherent collegiate style of working. The open plan work areas have encouraged and reinforced discussion. At the Central Enquiry Point there is an infectious team approach to solving difficult queries with tight deadlines.

* Ideal training programs are those that maximise opportunities to refine communication and training skills while at the same time enhancing subject knowledge. Completion of an excellent external program has resulted in approximately 20 IRS information specialists being industry accredited internet trainers.

Quality organisational support

* IRS provides reference staff with numerous opportunities to be well informed about clients, issues and the work of their colleagues. The changing Central Enquiry Point rostered teams have to know what is happening right across the organisation. Both the CEP Manager and the local shift manager can be consulted about new developments or difficult requests. ‘Hot’ issues and ‘hot’ documents are recorded, publicised and discussed at CEP meetings. A new meet-the-author segment has provided reference staff with additional information about the special features of new IRS electronic products and printed publications.

* IRS integrated subject teams of information and research specialists meet regularly to discuss issues and priorities and to develop cooperative approaches to new and emerging issues. Inter program fora to review, among other things, training programs and collection development issues provide additional opportunities for reference staff to participate in policy and planning processes.

Quality subject and professional knowledge

* The expert knowledge of resources, collections and databases is the result of a combination of qualifications and experience. Employment in the parliamentary service has remained highly competitive so IRS is fortunate to be able to employ librarians who, together with their mandatory professional qualifications, have a combination of subject qualifications, advanced degrees or extensive relevant subject experience.

* Knowledge of sources, physical collections and specialised databases are fundamental requirements. Sharing this knowledge is encouraged and supported. Information specialists select material for the Library’s collections as well as create specialist materials and databases for colleagues to share. Database knowledge and search skills are refreshed using strategies which include appointing local experts to update sections of the ‘red guide’to database searching. This locally tailored product incorporates the latest tips and tactics accompanied by relevant examples. Regular vendor presentations in house also ensure presentations are timely and search strategies are relevant and cost effective.

Quality control

* The direct information requests we now receive are often more complex and time consuming to clarify, pursue and package. Documentation to explain the approach taken and the material presented is, with encouragement, becoming a more widespread practice among information specialists. This serves as an ongoing record for clients who are often so busy they might have forgotten what question they had originally asked.

Managing the demand for quality services

Wider access to increasingly sophisticated and reliable technology has proved to be a significant demand moderator. In terms of sheer numbers, individual queries handled by IRS staff have declined over the past few years. To some extent this decline has been engineered by ourselves as we have responded to the challenges that the Internet and just in time information providers have presented. The establishment of electronic self help services has moved basic document searching and retrieval functions back to the individual as reliable network communications allow members of parliament to access these services at a time and place of their choosing. At the same time we have developed new electronic products which demonstrate that we can meet the challenge of providing high quality, targeted and balanced information to our clients in the competitive, electronic information marketplace. Resource guides and electronic briefs now sit alongside established printed products to help Senators and Members make sense of the vast range of material at their fingertips.

In the networked environment self-help can be complex and elusive as clients navigate databases and web pages without the extensive knowledge of professional searchers. However, while a major consequence of new approaches to service delivery has been to reduce the number of routine requests, another has been to move reference staff into prominent roles as personalised trainers, assisting clients to find the material for themselves that previously would have been retrieved and packaged for them.

In conclusion

Quality reference and information services depend on quality staff, systems and resources. Balancing quality and quantity in an environment where technology is changing the way our clients use our services is a process of improving traditional approaches but also embracing new opportunities. Achieving the right balance is to ensure that these services retain their quality and their relevance.