The University of California Libraries: A Plan for Development (1977)

VII. Information and Instruction 103
Referral Services. The need for information affects other agencies
that disseminate information as well as libraries, of course, and recently
there has been a growing concern that too little has been done
to link these agencies and their services together for the benefit of
the citizenry. This realization has led to a new interest in, and
emphasis on, the referral function of libraries, i.e., the linking of
needs with services, wherever they may be located. The appropriate
service may or may not be the library; one article on "information and
referral service" (to use the current term) even suggests that "it may
be necessary to phone an agency to make an appointment for a patron who
is not able or comfortable in doing that for himself." 1 When the pro-
cess leads to another agency, it may also be necessary to follow up to
insure that the link was made and the problem resolved. "Some patrons
quite literally need an interpreter to deal with agencies, because of
language difficulties or because they do not communicate well on the
telephone," and follow-up may be necessary simply "because they have
been given the runaround by another agency (or think that they have)." 2
University libraries have become increasingly aware of the importance
of their role in this regard, both because of a realization that
their unique resources and expertise may be of help, and also because
of a more pragmatic realization that financial support depends on public
awareness of the value of libraries.
The library at UC San Diego recently participated in a study in
the San Diego region which indicated both the need for libraries to
be involved in the referral process, and the fact that libraries are
too often overlooked as sources of help. A report on the study (written
by the Associate University Librarian at UC San Diego) indicated
that
even though libraries do occasionally refer questions to
information agencies, their tendency is to try to bend questions
so that they can be answered by printed materials even
though other kinds of referrals would be more appropriate.
Information agencies, on the other hand, seldom refer to
1 Robert Croneberger, Jr., and Carolyn Luck, "Defining Information and
Referral Service," Library Journal, v. 100 (November 1, 1975), p. 1986.
2 Ibid., p. 1987.