Trying to Help without getting in their Faces: Public Library Staff Descriptions of Providing Consumer Health Information

Abstract

Several recent studies have analyzed users' descriptions of the reference transaction, but little research has analyzed library staff members' accounts of reference encounters. This article builds on the work of Marie Radford and the authors of the "library visit" studies by examining library staff members' descriptions of providing consumer health reference services. WE conclude that an in-depth study of staff members' accounts can provide insight into the different ways that library staff members and users construct problems in the reference encounter and can therefore suggest potential solutions.

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