Patrons and the PC: What Problems Should Reference Librarians Solve?

Reference librarians today face a variety of additional responsibilities and duties in the library setting due to the successful emergence of the personal computer. Computers have changed nearly every aspect of library operation, and while patrons have reaped many benefits, including newly available sources via the Internet and the ability to search the holdings of libraries across the world, reference librarians have found that their jobs have changed dramatically as patrons expect increasingly complicated computer support. This article will provide some suggestions on which computer problems are suitable for a typical public services librarian to tackle, suggest a sample library policy on reference librarian computer support as a way to alert patrons about appropriate expectations, and offer guidance to those librarians on the front lines who face computer troubleshooting issues on a daily basis.