Policy for Reference Services

The Reference Services Department at the Huntley Area Public Library strives to meet the information needs of all patrons. To achieve this goal, the reference staff will observe the following guidelines.

Staff at the Reference Desk will maintain an alert, visibly approachable, and welcoming attitude. Any work projects being done at the desk should not be carried on in a manner which may appear to be a barrier to patrons seeking to request public service. Private conversations and phone calls should be kept to a minimum.

Reference staff should regularly move about the library to offer assistance to patrons, including those attempting to use the library catalog.

Reference services include, but will not be limited to:

Providing a reference staff of qualified and approachable people all hours the library is open.

Offering reference and reader's advisory assistance as well as bibliographic instruction.

Training patrons to use the library, reference sources, and reference databases.

Maintaining a collection of current resources including reference databases.

Participating in consortia and other types of networks and information systems to obtain access to information sources and services that are not or cannot be provided directly at the Huntley Area Public Library.

Services provided will be guided by the American Library Association Code of Ethics (Attachment A), the American Library Association Library Bill of Rights (Attachment B), and Serving Our Public: Standards for Illinois Public Libraries (Copy at Reference Desk).

All questions from patrons will be treated with impartiality and confidentiality, regardless of age, race, religion, sex, disability, or social or economic status. Value judgments will not be made by staff as to the importance of any question. Questions deemed inappropriate for the Reference Service Department will be referred to the appropriate sources. Confidentiality extends to inquiries regarding specific questions asked by specific patrons subject to the guidelines of local, state, and federal law. All questions will be handled according to these guidelines regardless of the intended use of the information within local, state, and federal law.

Reference staff will respond to all inquiries posed either in person or through remote access such as telephone or email.

Reference questions will be responded to in the order received. In cases of time restraints, walk-in patrons are the staff's first priority.

Reference staff will respond to patrons' reference and information needs to the extent possible, but assistance may be limited by staff and resource availability. Patrons will be notified of those restrictions. It may be necessary for staff to limit in person, phone call, or email assistance to five minutes. It may also be necessary to return patron calls or email at a later time, but responses should be given within twenty-four hours. Reference staff should seek help from off-desk staff when needed.

Transactions at the Reference Desk should not include circulation tasks such as checking out items or paying fines. Patrons should be referred to the Circulation Desk.

Questions concerning Library Policy should be answered by referring to written policy statements. If this does not satisfy the patron, he or she should be referred to the person in charge at the Reference Desk. If the patron is still not satisfied, he or she should be referred to the Library Director.

Reference staff members are not qualified to interpret or give opinions about the information provided, including legal, medical, tax, or financial information.

Questions that require extensive research, including family history and genealogy questions, will not be answered completely, but the reference staff will provide direction to start patrons in their research.

When the Library is not able to provide the needed information, referrals will be made to appropriate resources including other agencies or groups.

Photocopied Huntley Area Public Library material may be provided to patrons through fax or mail. Patrons may be charged any photocopy or postage expenses. These requests must allow two business days for the photocopies to be made and must comply with copyright law.

Reference staff will request interlibrary loan material not owned by the Huntley Area Public Library or CCS libraries for Huntley Area Public Library cardholders except for non-circulating materials, microfilm, or materials published in the current year.

If processing or loan fees are charged by the lending library, the patron will be notified by interlibrary loan staff and asked to accept the charges before the loan request is finalized. Requests through the OCLC service will be limited to three attempts per title.

If a patron has multiple requests, reference and interlibrary loan staff will process the requests as time permits. Patrons may be charged for any photocopy expenses for material received by fax or email.

A reference staff member will serve as liaison to local book clubs to assist with loaning multiple copies of the same title for discussion. The book club leader will be notified if requests cannot be satisfied.

Cardholders from other libraries will be referred to their home library for interlibrary loan requests unless the library material is available at a member library in CCS.

Services such as proctoring exams and teacher loans are not provided.

Reference staff will make every effort to train patrons to use the library catalog and other library specific electronic or print resources as well as office equipment available to the public. However, staff assistance at computer stations or other equipment will be limited to providing basic instructions and troubleshooting. Referral may be made to formal classes held at the library or other local agencies. Please refer to the Computer Use Policy.

Reference staff as well as all library staff are responsible for the enforcement of all library policies including but not limited to the Patron Behavior Policy.