Conduct reference searches, using printed materials and in-house and online databases.

“Conduct reference searches, using printed materials and in-house and online databases.” is a core task performed by Library Technicians. Among the occupation's 35 rated tasks, workers place it 15th by importance (#21 most important). About 76% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Gather information from physical or electronic sources. in Getting Information

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E2. Exposure with tools — software built on top of a language model (not the model alone) could cut the time by at least half.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.50. Automation potential label: T3.

How AI is actually used on this kind of task

The Anthropic Economic Index observes how people actually use AI on tasks like this one across millions of real conversations.

• 0.051% share of AI-use records mapped to this task
• 21% of that use is work-related
• Most common interaction: directive
• Average autonomy of the AI: 2.9 (1–5; higher = more autonomous)
• 100% of interactions still needed a human in the loop

Observed AI use describes people choosing to use AI as a tool on this kind of task today. It is augmentation and assistance, not a measure of jobs replaced.

Working with AI vs. handing it off

Of the AI conversations mapped to this task, the split between people working alongside AI and people delegating the task to it.

How people interact with AI on this task

Other tasks in this occupation

• Reserve, circulate, renew, and discharge books and other materials. · importance 4.3
• Answer routine telephone or in-person reference inquiries, referring patrons to librarians for further assistance, when necessary. · importance 4.3
• Help patrons find and use library resources, such as reference materials, audio-visual equipment, computers, and other electronic resources and provide technical assistance when needed. · importance 4.2
• Deliver and retrieve items throughout the library by hand or using pushcart. · importance 4.2
• Process print and non-print library materials to prepare them for inclusion in library collections. · importance 4.1
• Catalogue and sort books and other print and non-print materials according to procedure and return them to shelves, files, or other designated storage areas. · importance 4.0
• Enter and update patrons' records on computers. · importance 4.0
• Issue identification cards to borrowers. · importance 4.0
• Provide assistance to teachers and students by locating materials and helping to complete special projects. · importance 3.9
• Compile and maintain records relating to circulation, materials, and equipment. · importance 3.8
• Take actions to halt disruption of library activities by problem patrons. · importance 3.8
• Process interlibrary loans for patrons. · importance 3.7
• Review subject matter of materials to be classified and select classification numbers and headings according to classification systems. · importance 3.7
• Maintain and troubleshoot problems with library equipment, including computers, photocopiers, and audio-visual equipment. · importance 3.7

See all tasks on the Library Technicians page.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-1695,
  title  = {Conduct reference searches, using printed materials and in-house and online databases.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-1695}
}