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Answering Questions: Incorporating the Human Element Into Reference Librarianship Education

In the November/December issue of American Libraries, Dr. Joe Janes gives a “fond farewell to the Internet Public Library,” which he created in 1995 when he was on the faculty at the University of Michigan (Janes, 2014, p. 27). For many library and information science (LIS) students and their educators, the Internet Public Library (IPL) provided a sound and safe approach to meeting members of the public who expressed their real needs by posting questions online. IPL, now ipl2, provided a structure for students to test and experience the reference techniques that they read about through high quality reference service in real life and real time. Patrons learned to share not only their questions but also how they would use the information they received, what sources they had already consulted, and whether their question was related to a class assignment. Thus, the IPL was both a training tool and an advocacy tool for demonstrating to the public the benefits of working with an information specialist. Janes’ announcement has prompted me to consider how I have incorporated answering questions in the classes that I have taught. While reference service is often blended now with instruction and reader’s advisory, the process of answering questions is both a traditional and contemporary service offered by many libraries. Evidence of this service