Reference Repertoire: You know more than you know

Reference workers need vast and diverse knowledge of information resources, including subject expertise, searching skills, and information literacy. However, the current information landscape bombards reference workers with a wide range of information. Traditional reference education strives to teach a survey of reference resources, even while acknowledging that no agreement exists about what should be taught and how to maintain reference skills. Given the rapid proliferation of information resources, how can we ensure that reference workers keep pace with the rapidly changing information environment?
One approach is to draw on other fields that also build bodies of knowledge in an ever-changing environment. Reference work shares much in common the idea of design repertoire—a body of knowledge iteratively built from previous experiences, and the more past experiences, the more situations, the more informed an individual is in new situations. Using design repertoire in reference highlights that reference workers carry a repertoire built on previous experiences they can then draw upon for reference work.
In this session, we highlight that library staff know more than they realize, and already have a reference repertoire of experiences and knowledge that can be used, even if they are not aware of it. Come learn how your preexisting knowledge and experience--library related or not--can be used for reference work, and practical tips for how you can increase your reference repertoire to offer better reference services.

Sponsored by RUSA-RSS