| Abstract: | Abstract A critical but overlooked aspect of reference service is thinking about paradigms and metaphors. These are subconscious imageries that define how we think about our work-and how our clients think about us. Limitations of the current paradigms affecting reference services are: (1) social-class assumptions about the nature of the library and its clientele; (2) classification systems based on obsolete ideas that subject categories are mutually exclusive; (3) the fortress metaphor implied in physical organization; and (4) failure to capture statistical data that measure contemporary aspects of user service. New ways of thinking about reference service with new paradigms and metaphors are suggested. Critical elements in a new paradigm are: (1) envisioning the library as portal, both for on-line and in-library service; (2) accepting the fact that knowledge is an open system, not conducive to our closed-system classification systems; (3) breaching our metaphorical fortress to provide more personal reference service; and (4) updating our statistical measures to match quantitative measures with actual quality of service. |
