Service Standards

Research Assistance is all about meeting our users’ information needs from the most basic to highly complex. We will guide you to the best resources to meet your needs and will work with you to reach a satisfactory answer to your question.

1. Welcoming and Hospitable: Reference staff are trained to help those who come to the library in person and who connect with us virtually. In-person users typically take precedence, although we try to keep wait time to a minimum. We aim for an atmosphere of friendly hospitality and professionalism. Each person who uses our research service is treated with equal respect regardless of age, race, gender or disability.
2. Knowledgeable: Our trained reference librarians and student research consultants are familiar with the research and information needs of the Calvin community. We stay well-informed about new research databases and reference materials. We can assist with basic technological questions; any such questions outside of our skill areas are referred to an expert in Calvin Information Technology or to our own library technology staff. Library Research Consultants (students) are trained to assist users who have more straightforward, routine questions; they refer the more complex questions to our team of professional librarians.
3. Courteous: All reference staff strive to be careful and thoughtful listeners. We pledge to respond to information requests objectively and without bias.
4. Responsive: Reference Staff make changes in policy and practice based on user feedback and on recommendations from professional sources. We strive to resolve concerns and answer questions promptly.