CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the study

Reference service is one of the essential services of the library. Meaning reference service is the activities, roles, functions and services rendered by the reference librarian constitute reference service. According to Prytherch, (2002) He states that: “reference service deal with the provision of reference work by library staff”.

According to Ohio Library Council, (2005) Reference services is “A way for libraries to meet the needs of their user (clientele) communities”. Reference service involves instructing clients to operate independently and at own pace to uses electronic and print resources of the library, it also involved personal assistance given to the users to enable them meet their needs.

James (2005) states that reference work started in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to respond to several forces and trends. In the next several decades from the 1930s through the 1950s, a new technology that provides, access to the library to a lager member and much wider variety of people was introduce. That technology is obviously, the telephone and the reference literature of the day speaks of its advantages but also its challenges. For example, having distinguished between “important questions coming in via the telephone those business men and involving important topics from less important” ones from club woman planning programs, context questions like should this service be centralized or dispersed? Should it be staffed differently from the desk? What information resources should be dedicated to it? And many more.

According to (ALA RUSA, 2008) reference service includes reference transactions and other activities that involve the creation, management, and assessment of information or research resources, tools and services. Creation and management of information resources includes the development and maintenance of research collections, research guide, catalogues, database, web-sites, search engines etc that patrons can use independently, in-house or remotely to satisfy their information needs. Assessment activities include the measurement and evaluation of reference work, resources and services.

According to Esharenana, (2008) sees reference section as that section of library which provide a variety of services and perform functions necessary to assist the users including provision of information service on demand and in providing institution in the use of library, selected of documents and organization of reference materials.

According to Obiora, (2004) states that reference sources are publications – book and non-book materials consulted only within the library for specific facts or definite piece of information on a subject. There are two types of reference sources, general reference sources which include Encyclopedia, Directories, Dictionaries, Yearbooks and Handbook while special or subject reference sources are Mathematics, Biology, and Library Science.

According to Esharenana, (2008) states that reference question is a sentence, phrase or word posed by a patron to the reference librarian asking for information or assistance in order to meet the need.