Service Perspectives for the Digital Library: Remote Reference Services

THISARTICLE WILL EXPLORE THE ROLE OF THE LIBRARIAN arid of the service perspective in the digital library environment. The focus of the article will be limited to the topic of librarian/user collaboration where the librarian and user are not co-located. The role of the librarian will be explored as outlined in the literature on digital libraries, some studies will be examined that attempt to put the service perspective in the digital library, survey existing initiatives in providing library services electronically, and outline potential service perspectives for the digital library.  The digital library offers users the prospect of access to electronic resources at their convenience temporally and spatially. Users do not have to be concerned with the physical library’s hours of operation, and users do not have to go physically to the library to access resources. Much has been written about the digital library. The focus of most studies, papers, and articles has been on the technology or on the types of resources offered. Human interaction in the digital library is discussed far less frequently. One would almost get the impression that the service tradition of the physical library will be unnecessary and redundant in the digital library environment. Bernie Sloan, Office for Planning and Budget, Room 338, 506 S. Wright Street, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 LIBRARY TRENDS, Vol. 47, No. 1, Summer 1998,pp. 117-143 01998 The Board of’Trustees, University of Illinois 118 I.IBRARY TRENDS/SUMMER 1998 DEFINING LIBRARY-WHERE SERVICE FITI N ? THE DIGITA DOES Defining the digital library is an interesting, but somewhat daunting, task. There is no shortage of proposed definitions. One would think that there would be some commonly accepted and fairly straightforward standard definition, but there does not appear to be. Rather, there are many. And one common thread among all these definitions is a heavy emphasis on rrsourcesand an apparent lack of emphasis on librarians and the services they provide. The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) notes: “There are many definitions of a ‘digital library’. . . .Terms such as ‘electronic library’ and ‘virtual library’ are often used synonymously” (Association of Research Libraries, 1995). The AlU relies on Karen Drabenstott’s (1994) Analytical Reuiai~ojthe Library ofthe Future for its inspiration. In defining the digital library, Drabenstott offers fourteen definitions published between 1987 and 1993. The commonalties of these different definitions are summarized as follows: The digital library is not a single entity. The digital library requires technology to link the resources of many libraries and information services. Transparent to end-users are the linkages between the many digital libraries and information services. Universal access to digital libraries and information services is a goal. Digital libraries are not limited to document surrogates; they extend to digital artifacts that cannot be represented or distributed in printed formats. (p.9) One interesting aspect of Drabenstott’s summary definition is that, while there is a user-orientation stated, as well as references to technology and information resources, there is no reference to the role of the librarian in the digital library. Another report by Saffady (1995) cites thirty definitions of the digital library published between 1991 and 1994. Among the terms Saffady uses in describing these various definitions are: “repositories of.. .information assets,” “large information repositories,” “various online databases and.. .information products,” “computer storage devices on which information repositories reside,” “computerized, networked library systems,” accessible through the Internet,” “CD-ROM information products,” “database servers,” “libraries with online catalogs,” and “collections of computer-processible information” (p. 2 2 3 ) . Saffady summarizes these definitions by stating: “Broadly defined, a digital library is a collection of computer-processible information or a repository for such information” (p. 223). He then narrows the definition by noting that “a digital library is a library that maintains all, or a substantial part, of its collection in computer-processible form as an alternative, supplement, or complement to the conventional printed and microform materials that currently domiSLOAN/SERVICE PERSPECTIVES FOR THE DIGITAL LIBRARY I 19 nate library collections” (p. 224). Without exception, each of the definitions Saffady cites focuses on collections, repositories, or information resources. In another paper, Nurnberg, Furata, Leggett, Marshall, and Shipman (1995) ask “Why is a digital library called a library at all?” They state that the traditional physical library can provide a basis for discussing the digital library and arrive at this definition: the traditional library “deals with physical data” while the digital library works “primarily with digital data.” Once again, a definition that is striking in its neglect of service perspectives. In a paper presented at the Digital Libraries ’94 conference, Miksa and Doty (1994) again discuss the digital library as a “collection” or a series of collections. In another paper, Schatz and Chen (1996) state that digital libraries are “network information systems,” accessing resources “from and across large collections.” What do all these definitions of the “digital library” have in common? An emphasis on technology and information resources and a very noticeable lack of discussion of the service aspects of the digital library. Why is it important to take a look at how the digital library is defined? As more definitions of the digital library are published, with an absence of the service perspective and little treatment of the importance of librarian/ user collaboration, we perhaps draw closer to the Redundancy Theory (Hathorn, 1997) in which “the rise of digitized information threatens to make librarians practically obsolete.” People may well begin to believe that, as physical barriers to access to information are reduced through technological means, the services of the librarian are no longer as necessary. HUMAN OF THE DIGITAL ASPECTS IBRARY While considering the future, it sometimes is helpful to examine the past. As such, it might be useful to reflect on Jesse Shera’s oft-quoted definition of a library: “To bring together human beings and recorded knowledge in as fruitful a relationship as is humanly possible” (in Dysart &Jones, 1995, p. 16). Digital library proponents must consider the role of people (i.e., as users and service providers) if the digital library is to be truly beneficial. Technology and information resources on their own cannot make up an effective digital library. While a good deal of the literature on digital libraries emphasizes technology and resources at the expense of the service perspective, a number of authors and researchers have considered human interaction in the digital library environment. A number of studies at Lancaster University (Twidale, 1995, 1996; Twidale, Nichols, & Paice, 1996; Crabtree, Twidale, O’Brien, & Nichols, 1997; Nichols, Twidale, & Paice, 1997) have considered the importance of human interaction in the digital library. These studies focus on the social interactions of library users with librarians, librarians with librarians, and users with other users. By studying these collaborations in physical library settings, the authors have drawn some general conclusions that might be applied to digital library design: Collaboration between users, and between users and system personnel, is a significant element of searching in current information systems. The development of electronic libraries threatens existing forms of collaboration but also offers opportunities for new forms of collaboration. The sharing of both the search product and the search process are important for collaborative activities (including the education of searchers). There exist$ great potential for improving search effectiveness through the re-use of previous searches; this is one mechanism for adding value to existing databases. Browsing is not restricted to browsing for inanimate objects; browsing for people is also possible and could be a valuable source ofinformation. Searchers of databases need externalized help to reduce their cognitive load during the search process. This can be provided both by traditional paper-based technology and through computerized systems (Twidale et al., 1996). In a paper presented at the Digital Libraries ’94Conference, Ackerman (1994) stresses that, while the concept of the digital library “includes solving many of the technical and logistical issues in current libraries and information seeking,” it would be a mistake to consider solely the mechanical aspects of the library while ignoring the “useful social interactions in information seeking.” Ackerman outlines four ways in which social interaction can be helpful in the information-seeking process: 1. One may need to consult another person in order to know what to know (help in selecting information). 2. One may need to consult a person to obtain information that is transitory in nature and as such is unindexed (seeking informal information). 3. One may need to consult others for assistance in obtaining/understanding information that is highly contextual in nature rather than merely obtaining the information in a textual format (information seekers often have highly specific needs and interests). 4. Libraries serve important social functions, e.g., students and/or faculty meeting each other in hallways, study areas, etc. (socializing function). Ackerman notes that these points “all argue for the inclusion of some form of social interaction within the digital library. Such interaction should include not only librarians (or some human helper), but other users as well.” In a paper for the Digital Libraries ’96 Conference, Brewer, Ding, Hahn,