General Information

Welcome to the Polk County Public Library's GENERAL INFORMATION web page!

In the future this page will be devoted to ideas and projects developed over time to address the Polk County Public Library's chosen primary service priority, GENERAL INFORMATION. Until then, we offer below some background information on what an GENERAL INFORMATION service response might entail.

(This description of a variety of ways to implement a GENERAL INFORMATION service response is from Planning For Results: A Public Library Transformation Process, by Ethel Himmel and William James Wilson, Chicago: ALA, 1998, pp. 98-101.)

Example of Needs Addressed by This Service Response

A library that offers GENERAL INFORMATION helps meet the need for information and answers to questions on a broad array of topics related to work, school, and personal life.

What the Library Does and Provides

The library will offer print, non-print, and electronic reference resources that cover a broad variety of topics. The library will provide staff skillful in determining users' needs and in locating relevant information that satisfies those needs. Internet access will be provided for staff and public use.

Alternative off-site means of accessing information resources such as dial-in service and computer kiosks in public places may be provided. The library will provide telephone information service and should consider accepting and answering questions via fax and e-mail. The library may locate, organize, and provide access to general information resources on a web page.

Some Possible Components of General Information Service

Basic reference resources available through the library web page
Twenty-four-hour electronic reference service (ability to e- mail questions)
Dedicated telephone reference service (not located at reference desk)
Ready reference answers faxed to home or office
Desktop videoconferencing (for transmitting schematic drawings, graphics)
Bibliographic instruction programs.

Target Audiences and Service Aspects

Target Audiences

GENERAL INFORMATION service is typically available to all ages; however it is possible to target the service to meet the information needs of an age group such as seniors or primary school-aged children.

Service Aspects
Aspects of the service that might be stressed include telephone reference service or other off-site access to basic information resources.

Resource Allocation Issues to Consider

Staff
Staff providing GENERAL INFORMATION service should be informed about a broad range of topics and should possess a good knowledge of how to retrieve information. In libraries where multiple staff members provide the service, staff with varied formal education backgrounds are desirable. Staff need to become highly skilled in database searching and should be familiar with a variety of computer search engines to access resources on the Internet.

Collection and Information Resources
The entire collection, not just non-circulating books designated as reference, should be considered reference tools. Libraries providing this service should have Internet access available for both staff and the public. Other databases, indexes, and finding tools should be available in many locations throughout the library as well as in the designated reference section. The library catalog and other general information resources should be available twenty-four hours per day through either a dial-in service or through the World Wide Web.

Facilities
Facilities should be provided both for interaction between library staff and library users and for quiet study. Tables and study carrels should be available in numbers that meet demand during the heaviest use period. Individual study rooms and small group study facilities may be provided. Workstations for both standing and seated computer use (short use and extended use) should be provided.

Technology
Computers throughout the library should be able to access a full range of information resources. Single-purpose terminals dedicated to an individual product should be minimized. Technologies such as local and wide area networks should be used to distribute information broadly.

Possible Measures to Consider When Developing Objectives

People Served

Total number of users served (this measures the total number of users who used a service during a given time period):

Number of people who used telephone reference service
Number of people who attended programs about general information services.

Number of Unique Individuals Who Used the Service
(this measures the total number of unique individuals who used the service during a given time period, regardless of how many times they used the service):

Number of unique individuals completing a library- sponsored bibliographic instruction class.

How Well the Service Met the Needs of People Served

Percent of people who used general information reference materials who indicated on a survey that the materials met their needs
Percent of people who used general information service who indicated on a survey that the information was provided in a timely manner
Percent of people who attended general information programs who indicated on a survey that the program was satisfactory to excellent.

Total Units of Service Delivered

Number of times the library web page was accessed
Number of unique general information pathfinders or book lists produced
Number of general reference questions answered via fax or e-mail
Number of general information questions answered.