An important assumption with some supporting evidence is that quite a few reference questions are based upon current events. For example, students would want to write a paper on terrorism after the 11 September tragedy. Adults will be interested in food satefy after headlines about food product recalls. Does this seem reasonable? If yes, which events are most likely to stimulate demand for more information?
Current awareness should result in an awareness and some understanding of major events or issues associated with an event. This awareness should make you more prepared to answer reference questions more efficiently and effectively.
Some events, like 11 September or a major bridge collapse, are unpredictable. Other events, elections or filing tax forms for example, occur at the same time each year. With predictable events or unpredictable ones likely to have a longer impact, various public services initiatives may be implemented. Responding to users who want to know why some Islamic people hate the United States or what kind of place Afghanistan is, the librarian might:
Can you think of other services that might be provided? To what degree should reference librarians expand their role to become adult services librarians? Librarians who work with children and teens spend considerable time and effort on programs. Certainly, the social sciences provide many programming opportunities. Should we too consider programming an important professional responsibility?
Here are some semi-random social science headlines taken from a small town newspaper:
Would any of these stimulate reference queries?
1stheadlines.com provides a subject index to its headlines. How many of the descriptors relate to the social sciences? Which of these subjects are likely to be popular in your situation? Select one of these topics and suggest programming ideas appropriate for that topic. Here is the index:
Last major revision: August 2007.
