Understanding an Information 1

Running head: UNDERSTANDING AN INFORMATION NEED HOLISTICALLY

Understanding an Information Need Holistically Leads to

Successful Reference Service

Andrea McCullough

Emporia State University SLIM program

 Understanding an Information 2

Abstract

In this reference transaction description, understanding how a client’s information need

fits into their life is the most important factor in the diagnosis process. Although the reference

interview was abbreviated and elements of the reference dialog were missing, personal

knowledge of the client helped the interviewer make informed decisions which aided in

producing an information package that fit the client’s needs and wants.
 Understanding an Information 3

Understanding an Information Need Holistically

Leads to Successful Reference Service

On September 9, 2009, the client in this report on client diagnosis and recommendation

of information sources gave birth to twin girls at twenty-six weeks, six days gestation. This is ten

weeks before what is considered a full-term pregnancy. The babies weighed a few ounces more

than two pounds and were in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Presbyterian St. Luke’s

Hospital in Denver, Colorado. When approached about the client diagnosis assignment, the client

quickly agreed to participate and immediately communicated her information needs: what

potential disabilities will her daughters have, and are there ways to prevent the severity of these

potential disabilities.

The Reference Interview

The reference interview lasted approximately four minutes over the telephone. Having

two children in the NICU (in addition to a four year-old at home), the phone was the only way

the client could communicate in real-time with most people. She was somewhat active using

email and Facebook, but only for non-immediate or unnecessary communication. While a phone

interview was convenient for the client, there wasn’t an opportunity to observe her non-verbal

cues. It is not possible to project what information could have been gathered had the interaction

took place face-to-face. Considering that a ten year relationship exists with the client, trust and

rapport have been established so it could be assumed that there was no more or different

information desired by the client in respects to her research questions. As Grover & Carabell

(1995) suggest, a comfortable client relationship will help the client relax and will foster open

communication which results in effective diagnosis.

 Understanding an Information 4

The client’s initial question, “What do the reports say to expect when babies are born at

26 weeks, 6 days?” was replied to with a neutral question intended to narrow the scope of

expectation. The interviewer could not determine if she was interested in short or long-term

issues. She was asked if there was specific information she was interested in, to which she

replied, “I’m wondering about learning disabilities in particular, but other disabilities too. And is

there anything we can do now to prevent disabilities.” Her questions were repeated back to her,

she confirmed them as correctly encompassing her inquiry and the reference interview

concluded.

Many elements of a traditional reference interview did not occur. These elements were

decided upon by the interviewer based on personal knowledge of the client and knowledge of the

situation that has caused her information need. An explanation of how her information need

arose was not requested, as suggested by Dewdney & Michell (1997). The impromptu nature of

the interview left other questions unasked and unanswered. Quint (2002) asserted that the

searcher’s background knowledge of the subject area should be assessed as well as her comfort

with the subject’s terminology and her access to other sources of information. This assessment

was not performed. How the client would use the information was also not assessed formally. It

was assumed in light of the client’s situation she was interested in information about possibilities

that may lie ahead in the future for her family. She was trying to make sense of the situation that

had arisen in her life, per Dervin & Dewdney (1986).

Logistics about the delivery of the information sources was also not discussed. The client

was not questioned about her wishes for the format of the information, or when she hoped to

receive the information. The time frame for delivery of the requested resources was determined

by the interviewer. The client proved to be difficult to contact after the initial interview, so it was
 Understanding an Information 5

decided that the research be completed and the resources delivered as soon as possible. Since the

babies would not be moved from the NICU until December the resources weren’t vital to their

current situation. One and a half weeks passed between the reference interview and the delivery

of the resources.

The Information Search

As Grover and Carabell (1995) discuss, knowledge, skill and intuition together will help

the client diagnosis process. The interviewer’s past experience working with families of children

with special needs provided knowledge of where to begin this search. MedlinePlus, a consumer

health website produced by the United States National Library of Medicine was searched using

the term “premature birth”. An existing “health topic” web page was located called “Premature

Babies”. The web page included overviews, the latest published related research, information

about coping and specific conditions. Because of the breadth of the information provided on one

web page this became the first resource suggested to the client. The information at MedlinePlus

also provided another search term, “low birth weight”, to explore. This led to the more specific

term of “very low birth weight” that yielded more detailed resources discussing specific

developmental issues.

Taking into account the client’s Bachelor of Science degree in biology, clinical research

articles were included. Abstracts of two recent research articles published in 2009 were

collected. The articles were both comprehensive in nature-- one was a meta-analysis and the

other examined diseases in a specified population of very low birth weight babies. Including the

abstracts rather than the entire article would serve to introduce the clinical research but wouldn’t

necessitate that the client read the lengthy articles. The National Information Center for Children

and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) provides instruction on their website for how to conduct
 Understanding an Information 6

a literature review. This web page was included in order to help the client understand how to

navigate resources for future use, which as Davis (2006) says, is part of a reference librarian’s

charge.

A federal law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides

early intervention services for infants and children with special needs. The state agency that

oversees the law, Early Intervention Colorado, was quickly located. The agency’s web page for

family members included information on the definition of early intervention, who qualifies, and

how to access their services. It was discovered that each NICU has a liaison for the program so

public awareness documents provided by the agency were ordered for the client. This important

find was highlighted for the client in the follow-up discussion. A liaison could bridge the gap to

important services for the family.

The Family Health Library at the Children’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado provides a

service for the community where an information packet can be requested concerning child illness

or wellness. An online electronic form was completed using the client’s questions verbatim. A

week and a half later the information was received in the mail. There were book chapters

photocopied from three different books and a list of the books owned by the Family Health

Library available to borrow. An online format for delivering the information had already been

created, so inclusion of the chapters was questionable. However, the way the information was

presented in the books was different, more sensitive than the cut-and-dry manner of the fact

sheets and web pages already provided. It was decided to scan the chapters in order to provide

them electronically.

Another type of resource gathered were web logs, or blogs, written by parents of children

who were or have been in the NICU. The blogs were scrutinized for their quality and were
 Understanding an Information 7

determined to be adequate for providing emotional support. A link to a family support program

called “Parent to Parent” that provides peer support for families of children with special needs

was also selected. Although not specifically requested, these support resources were included in

anticipation of potential issues the client may have to deal with and may not have time to seek

out when issues arise. This illustrates that the client’s needs were being considered holistically,

as Grover & Carabell (1995) suggest. Having two babies in the NICU is not just about the

babies-- the family must be supported through the situation to remain strong and functional.

The Information Package

In all, eighteen resources were delivered to the client. An immediate concern was one of

reference overload-- offering too many relevant resources to a user. “In a digital world where

access to resources is available at light speed, the temptation may be to push as many of these

resources as are available to the user” (Reichardt, 2006, p. 111). The result is an overwhelmed

user. Careful consideration was taken to organize the resources and prevent unnecessary stress

for the client.

The client was known to be tech-savvy. Her home is in the mountains, and they were

living a temporary kind of lifestyle in the Denver area, staying with family and friends.

Therefore, it was decided that compiling the resources online in the form of a blog would meet

her needs by being available for her wherever she had access to a computer. The client is also an

amateur author, so the blog could potentially become something for her to contribute to and

manage. Four blog pages were created based on subject: overviews, possible affects/conditions,

services and support, and research. This is similar to Reichardt’s (2006) approach of creating a

subject resource guide trying to find a balance between too many and too little resources. Each

resource was reviewed and a one-to-two sentence summary of each was posted next to its link.
 Understanding an Information 8

This was performed with the intention of giving the client a decision-making tool for visiting the

resource. She would be able to discern if she wanted to read the resource immediately or at a

later time.

Discussion

Although most resources were of different origin, purpose and viewpoint, several

resources contained overlapping information. The intent was that their inclusion would provide a

richness of information, not a tediousness. When asked if the overlapping of information was

problematic for her, the client called upon her scientific background saying that she understood

that if something was replicated, this indicated reliability; the duplication was reassuring to her.

The research article abstracts were welcomed. Their purely scientific language seemed to

comfort the client and give her a platform for the other resources. It was explained that if she

desired the full text versions, they could be easily obtained, but were not included because of

their length and detail. The NICHCY web page on performing literary searches was brought to

her attention at this time.

The MedlinePlus “premature babies” topic page, although the most comprehensive

resource included, caused some frustration. The client noted that she did not prefer the links that

take her to more links. Reichardt (2006) describes how users look for the quickest route to the

answers they are seeking. The client was educated on how to use the topic page in the future.

In regards to the information package delivered, the client described the blog as

“perfect”. However, after flipping through the notebook of the hard-copy resources provided by

Early Intervention Colorado (brochures) and the Children’s Hospital Family Health Library

(book chapters), she said it was also nice to have something to “hold on to”. Had the client been
 Understanding an Information 9

asked about format during the reference interview, the end result could have been more tailored

to her specific wishes.

Overall, the client was “extremely satisfied” with the research and the information

package. She felt it was something she could refer to and use as a tool to organize her medical

concerns with the twins. Her situation is not static and her information needs will develop as the

babies develop. The blog succeeds as a format by complimenting the client’s “dynamic,

personal, singular, and uncertain” information search process (Grover & Carabell, 1995, p. 3).

The largest concern for information professional was the amount of information

provided. Reichardt (2006) describes this dilemma as “…the seemingly inherent missionary

zealotry that, if the user is not made aware of all these resources, then we have not done our job”

(p. 107). By providing support resources-- the personal blogs and information about the Parent to

Parent program-- it was assumed that the client would be in need of them. However, the research

shows that roughly 45% of very low birth weight babies will have some kind of disability.

Posting these resources was presumptuous, but does go beyond the simple answer. “Maybe we

can look at it as our job (along with that of their professors) to broaden their expectations from

simple answers they receive to complicated ideas we help them discover and that they discover

on their own” (Fry, 2009, p. 33). While Fry (2009) was talking specifically about an academic

reference setting, she is essentially talking about helping the user anticipate the next step in their

research.

Lack of time for the reference interview was the reason for the assumptions made about

format, and the time frame for delivery of the information. Elements missing in the interview

were addressed with personal knowledge of the client and her situation as well as her

background and preferences. This method was not correct in every instance-- the client may have
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preferred more of a combination of print and electronic materials. Asking more explicit questions

of the client will ensure the end product is appropriate and useful.

Conclusion

Knowing the client personally and the reason for her information need was the most

important factor for the success of the diagnosis and delivery of information sources. Based on

the client’s background, preferences and situation, her information need was diagnosed and

information was delivered in a specialized and useful format. Resources varied in purpose and

scope to provide a well-rounded, holistic presentation of the issues surrounding very low birth

weight babies and the potential disabilities they may develop. An information package was

delivered that appealed to her and her need to access the information at anytime from anywhere.

The product can be updated and can serve as a repository for the medical issues of her twin girls.

There is value in understanding a client’s information need in respect to how it fits in their life.

As Reed (2009) discussed, the best practices for information service is knowledge of what works

best in your community, going beyond the simple answer and finding what the client wants to

the best of your ability.

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References

Davis, K. (2006, May 15). Nextgen. Mind the retail reference gap. Library Journal, 131(9), 66.

Dervin, D., & Dewdney, P. (1986). Neutral questioning: A new approach to the reference

interview. RQ, 25(4), 506-513.

Dewdney, P., & Michell, G. (1997). Asking "why" questions in the reference interview: A

theoretical justification. Library Quarterly, 67(1), 50-71.

Fry, A. (2009). Lessons of Good Customer Service. Library Journal, 134(14), 33-34.

Grover, R., & Carabell, J. (1995) Toward better information service: Diagnosing information

needs. Special Libraries, Winter, 1-10.

Quint, B. (2002). The return of the reference interview. Information Today, 19(2), 8, 10, 14.

Reed, V. (2009). Good reference service? Great reference service? What’s the difference? The

Reference Librarian, 50, 215-218.

Reichardt, R. (2006). Digital reference overload: Thoughts on how to deal. Internet Reference

Quarterly, 11(2), 105-112.