Who needs a (Reference) Librarian, anyway?

Abstract

Several recent studies have demonstrated that usage, and in particular undergraduate student usage, of academic libraries is in serious and rapid global decline. Loans are decreasing. Use of journals and books (print and electronic) are on the decline. Use of the library for study, homework or leisure reading is also down. Perhaps the largest and most dramatic decline lies in the area of seeking assistance from librarians – what we commonly refer to as reference. Embedded in this decline are a number of factors including alternative forms of information access as well as the (mis)perception of what a librarian does and is capable of doing. This paper will look at these trends and will ask whether such trends are also visible in an Asian context, in particular multicultural and multilingual Hong Kong. The paper will conclude with the outline of a planned investigation to get to the bottom of Hong Kong undergraduate information skills.