ABSTRACT
In spite of sometimes difficult working conditions, reference services continue to have an allure, both for prospective and experienced librarians. This attraction is explained in terms of a number of factors, including the archetypal role of reference, the various roles public service librarians perform, the positive feedback they experience, the different work rhythm of a reference desk, and the “encounters with reality” the desk provides. Yet the allure is fragile, and the same factors that give the reference desk its attraction also threaten the pleasures it can provide.
