A Question of Branding

Reference Activity 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2010 increase

Reference Desks 176,306 176,893 169,959 142,410 114,158 59,196 64,725 9.34% Office Consultations ① 9,279 9,310 4,939 7,495 6,008 6,500 7,859 20.91%

Total Reference ② 185,585 186,203 174,898 149,905 120,166 65,696 72,584 10.48% Troubleshooting & Circulation ③ 9,607 24,432 49,231 101.50% Directional ④ 102,215 102,798 89,184 80,240 51,453 15,486 20,666 33.45%

① Office consultations for 2007-2008 were estimated based on historical tendencies

② Total reference transactions for 2008 were a mix of samples transactions (winter, spring and summer) and 100% recorded transactions (fall) and reflected all types recorded (in person ,phone, email or chat). Beginning in 2009 ALL transactions recorded 100%

③ This was tracked beginning 2008

④ No reliable estimate for directional statistics available prior to 2004

“Librarians also need to do a better job of promoting the current services offered to users. If our users do not know what sort of assistance librarians can give them in their information searches, then they will be unlikely to seek out any assistance from librarians. Librarians and libraries may become increasingly irrelevant to users’ information needs.”

– O'Gorman, Jack, and Barry Trott. "What Will Become of Reference in Academic and Public Libraries?" Journal of Library Administration 49.4 (2009): 327-39.

We examined the websites of the 125 members of the Association of Research Libraries to see what they call reference:

92 Reference 33 Information 25 Service16 Research10 Help7 Commons

We examined the websites of 103 other RU/H institutions to see what they call reference:

79 Reference 15 Information 11 Service11 Research3 Help

We surveyed 3,000 faculty and students46% undergraduate students22% graduate students32% faculty

23% responded

Help 238Information 126Assistance 121Research 104Service 104Reference 47Answer 16Ask 15Commons 1

Company as brand“Consumers tend to perceive all services

offered by a company as components of a single brand. . . . . Services do not lend themselves to individual branding, as tangible goods do.”

de Chernatony, Leslie, and Francesca Dall’Olmo Riley. “Experts’ Views about Defining Service Brands and the Principles of Services Branding.” Journal of Business Research 46 (1999): 181-192.

Delta or Wells Fargo vs. Proctor & Gamble

Front-line employee as brandServices are intangible, complex, heterogeneous,

and process- not product-based. The front-line employee is the manifestation of the

“company as brand,” so internal branding is key.Employees must believe in the company’s brand

characteristics, so that they will portray those traits to the users as they provide services.

Reference should not be branded

But you still have to call it something!

“Whatever you name it, the variety of resources this desk provides should be advertised.” – Senior

Contact: Andy Spackman

Business and Economics Librarian

Brigham Young University

andy_spackman@byu.edu

Kathy Johansen

Access Services Department Chair

Brigham Young University

kathy_johansen@byu.edu

Committee Members: