Reference and Information Services: An Introduction / Edition 3

by Kay Ann Cassell, Uma Hiremath

Overview

Designed to complement every introductory library reference course, this is the perfect text for students and librarians looking to expand their personal reference knowledge, teaching failsafe methods for identifying important materials by matching specific types of questions to the best available sources, regardless of format. Guided by a national advisory board of educators and practitioners including Eileen Abels, Anita Ondrusek, Marie L. Radford, and Steven Tash, this text expertly keeps up with new technologies and practices while remaining grounded in the basics of reference work. Chapters on fundamental concepts, major reference sources, and special topics in reference provide a solid foundation, plus fresh insight on new issues, including
*New chapters on ethics, readers' advisory, and reference services for children and young adults
*Website development and maintenance
*RSS feeds
*Social networking
*Delivering reference services across multiple platforms
As librarians experience a changing climate for all information services professionals, Cassell and Hiremath provide the tools needed to manage the ebb and flow of changing reference services in the 21st century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781555708597
Publisher:	American Library Association
Publication date:	11/20/2012
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	532
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Kay Ann Cassell received her BA from Carnegie Mellon University, her MLS from Rutgers University, and her PhD from the International University for Graduate Studies. She has worked in academic libraries and public libraries as a reference librarian and as a library director. Ms. Cassell is a past president of Reference and User Services Association of ALA and is active on ALA and RUSA committees. She is the editor of the journal Collection Building and is the author of numerous articles and books on collection development and reference service. She was formerly the Associate Director of Collections and Services for the Branch Libraries of the New York Public Library where she was in charge of collection development and age-level services for the Branch Libraries. She is now a Lecturer and Director of the MLIS Program in the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

Uma Hiremath is Executive Director at the Ames Free Library, Massachusetts. She was Assistant Director at the Thayer Public Library, Massachusetts; Head of Reference at the West Orange Public Library, New Jersey; and Supervising Librarian at the New York Public Library where she worked for five years. She received her MLS from Pratt Institute, New York, and her PhD in political science at the University of Pittsburgh.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Part I Fundamental Concepts

1 Introduction to Reference and Information Services 3

2 Determining the Question-In-Person, Telephone, and Virtual Reference Interviews 15

3 Finding the Answer-Basic Search Techniques 37

Part II Introduction to Major Reference Sources

4 Answering Questions about Books, Magazines, Newspapers, Libraries and Publishing, and Bibliographic Networks-Bibliographic Resources 63

5 Answering Questions about Anything and Everything-Encyclopedias 79

6 Answering Questions That Require Handy Facts-Ready Reference Sources 105

7 Answering Questions about Words-Dictionaries, Concordances, and Manuals 123

8 Answering Questions about Current Events, Issues, and Research Topics-Databases and Indexes 149

9 Answering Questions about Law and Business-Special Guidelines and Sources 171

10 Answering Questions about Health-Special Guidelines and Sources Emily Vardell 195

11 Answering Questions about Geography, Countries, and Travel-Atlases, Gazetteers, Maps, Geographic Information Systems, and Travel Guides 215

12 Answering Questions about the Lives of People-Biographical Information Sources 233

13 Answering Questions about Government and Related Issues-Government Information Sources 247

Part III Special Topics in Reference and Information Services

14 When and How to Use the Internet as the Primary Reference Tool 267

15 Reference as Programming 289

16 Readers'Advisory Services Maria Fesz Cynthia Orr 313

17 Reference Services for Children and Young Adults Melissa Gross 329

18 Information Literacy in the Reference Department 345

Part IV Developing and Managing Reference Collections and Services

19 Selecting and Evaluating Reference Materials 363

20 Managing Reference Departments 377

21 Assessing and Improving Reference Services 395

22 Ethics in Reference Diana Floegel 417

23 Reference 2.0 431

24 The Future of Reference and Information Services 457

Appendixes

A Rusa Outstanding Reference Sources 2011-2022 469

B Rusa Definition of Reference (2021) 475

About the Authors and Contributors 479

Reference Resources Index 481

Subject Index 491