Finding

Archives Can Take Steps to Better Utilize Certain Staff Resources

WSA’s approach to reference makes the staff’s presence necessary.

Within WSA, the Archives section ascribes to a traditional approach to providing reference assistance, one that makes the staff's presence and individual knowledge necessary.  WSA productivity data for Archives staff suggests that Archives could better utilize several staff positions currently primarily dedicated to providing reference assistance.  Adopting a more user-centered approach to reference assistance could free up staff to focus on projects that would address currently unmet needs.

Staffing Emphasizes Reference Assistance

All staff in the reading room are not needed to assist patrons on a full time basis.

Half the professional staff in Archives, or four positions, are dedicated primarily to responding to patrons’ and agencies’ requests for reference assistance.  Located in the reading room of the Barrett Building, where micrographics readers and a portion of the collection are housed, these reference archivists assist the government and the public with research.  Other Archives staff pull requested materials, deliver documents from Archives South, and help to manage and process material that Archives has acquired.

WSA output data for Archives staff for FY99, a year representative of its normal workload, indicates that these staff members spend most of their time assisting patrons and agencies with their research and reference requests.  This work is interwoven with various other duties, such as developing finding aides, cataloging publications, processing collections, supervising volunteers and temporary employees, and developing databases. 

All staff in the reading room are not needed to assist patrons on a full-time basis.  We believe WSA could devise a more efficient staffing pattern, one which would assign a limited number of staff to providing direct patron assistance.  Other staff could then concentrate on projects without interruption from patrons in the reading room.  Consequently, some could be carrying out more focused long-term projects, such as developing databases and finding aides, that would support users in becoming more self-sufficient. 

WSA Uses a Traditional Approach

to Reference Services

Patrons needing information from WSA must request the assistance of a reference archivist.

WSA has yet to develop a comprehensive array of modern finding aides.

WSA has followed a traditional gatekeeper approach to reference services.  Under this approach, patrons needing information from the Archives do not go directly to finding aides, which are tools such as indexes and guides for locating materials, to initiate their own searches. Instead, patrons generally request the assistance of a reference archivist.

WSA finding aides are in mixed formats.  Some are being developed in electronic form, but are only useful for staff.  Only a small portion of WSA’s collection is indexed on its web site, and many of the aides currently available to the public are manual, such as books or card catalogues.  There are no printed guides directing patrons how to use finding aides, and even archivists must locate certain items by memory.

WSA has yet to develop a comprehensive array of modern and readily searchable finding aides that are available to the public.  WSA recognizes that its patrons are not scholarly researchers with archival skills, and thus makes the services of four reference archivists available.  Since its staff resources are limited, we believe WSA can more fully develop the tools and systems that will assist patrons in conducting their own searches.

The User-Centered Approach As a Model

AHC’s approach to reference is characteristic of a self-service approach to archival research.

WSA’s approach limits patrons’ ability to access research material without assistance.

In recent years, many archival facilities have adopted a user-centered approach to providing reference services.  One example is the American Heritage Center (AHC), a research facility at the University of Wyoming that houses the University of Wyoming Archives.  It also collects and preserves items that focus on Wyoming and the West and popular culture, among many other topics.  While WSA and AHC have many differences, both provide reference services to patrons, not all of  whom are familiar with the archival setting.

The AHC appears to have developed an effective way of providing reference services without dedicating its staff exclusively to that work.  While AHC has six reference staff positions, only one is available to the patrons in the reading room at a time.  AHC officials believe it is confusing to the public to have staff working in the reading room if they are not there solely to assist patrons.  By scheduling staff to be in the reading room in four hour shifts, other staff members can devote time away from the reading room to projects such as developing finding aides. 

The AHC's approach to reference service is characteristic of a self-service approach to archival research.  The reference assistant acts as a pointer to the finding aides, which are then used by patrons to obtain the type of information they seek.  This user-centered approach sees use of the materials as the primary reason for archives, with the key concept being to provide users the information they need.

In contrast, WSA’s gatekeeper approach limits patrons’ ability to access research material without the help of a reference archivist.  Expert intermediaries place themselves between the user and both the primary access tools and the historical record.  While this approach was useful in the past, the electronic age offers other possibilities for providing patron access to archival information. 

Recommendation: The WSA should evaluate current staff assignments.

WSA should evaluate the utilization of reading room staff.

We believe WSA may be dedicating more staff resources to providing reference assistance than is necessary.  At the same time, other needs, such as developing easily accessible finding aides, have gone unattended. 

The WSA should evaluate the utilization of reading room staff, and consider both the allocation of staff and procedures and practices used when providing reference services.  As part of this review, attention should be given to the importance of developing a more complete set of finding aides, as well as providing information on how to utilize finding aides.  Finding aides could be computerized in a database, making them easy for the public to utilize without the assistance of a reference staff member.  While not immediate, the eventual impact would be to lessen the burden on existing reference staff, freeing up time to focus on other projects.