From the President of RUSA: What’s in a Name? Toward a New Definition of Reference

Abstract

Do you refer to yourself as a reference librarian? If so, what does the word reference mean to you? RUSA’s members are less often called reference
librarians than they were in the past, and they do work that is different from what reference work was once thought to be. Our job titles and duties have changed, and while many of us still do some traditional reference work, the way we go about it is different from it was ten or fifteen years ago. Given this, should we still be called the Reference and User Services Association and use the word “reference” to describe our scope and focus as a group? If not reference, what terminology should we use?