Understanding of library jargon in the information seeking process

Derived from actual librarians' e-mail replies to clients' queries, this st udy investigated the clients' understanding of technical terms commonly use d by librarians during reference interviews. Two sample groups of clients w ere used for the study. The first group consisted of clientele of the Natio nal Reference Library of Singapore. The second group, comprising acquaintan ces of the staff from the Library Support Services of the National Library Board of Singapore, might be potential or actual library clients. The parti cipants were asked to complete a multiple-choice questionnaire, consisting of 20 technical terms, each accompanied by one correct and three incorrect definition options. The findings revealed that the participants were able t o define the technical terms correctly three-quarters of the time. However, 65% of the participants faced difficulty in defining at least one technica l term. The reasons underlying the participants' choices included the appea rance of the term in the chosen option and greater familiarity with the sel ected definition. The methods that were frequently used by the participants to derive the answers were guessing and knowing the meaning in another con text. It is recommended that librarians adopt a balanced approach towards t he use of technical terms when communicating with clients. While there is n o need to refrain from using technical language totally, librarians should exercise discretion and care when communicating.