A Review of Library Reference and Research Services

We are poised and prepared to help with your reference and research questions in the field of insurance. Often we are asked what the difference is between a reference question and research. While we've answered this question in several member newsletters over the years, we thought it would be good to discuss it one more time.

“Reference” inquiries are those which are readily answered and do not require us to set aside time beyond 15 minutes or so. They are generally quickly addressed through reference books or our journals index and–if we’re lucky–are questions we’ve answered for someone else before and remember! Most consumer questions would fall into this category, but a number of member questions are considered reference as well.

“Research” inquiries, on the other hand, are not so straightforward --these may involve somewhat arcane or historical subjects. Research is differentiated from reference by the scope or nature of the inquiry, the time required to do the work, and the intricacy of the subject. These requests require a librarian’s commitment of time and call for us to apply our thinking skills to formulate a plan of attack.

Any request being used for business purposes (as opposed to a consumer or student inquiry) by a non-member automatically incurs the research charge. On the other hand, library members may ask a variety of reference questions without incurring any charges beyond the normal document delivery fees. When we tip into the research mode, though, we charge members $80/hour and non-members $110/hour. An added benefit to membership is that research requests from members are completed before any non-member research is undertaken and they can pay the research fee after the work is completed, while non-members must pay up front.

We hope that this clears up some of the confusion regarding reference vs. research! For more information on other member benefits, you can go here.