Short description:

Keeping pace with
the rapidly shifting environment for all information services workers, in this
book provides readers with the knowledge and tools needed to manage the ebb and
flow of reference services in today's libraries.

Long description:

Keeping pace with
the rapidly shifting environment for all information services workers, in this
book provides readers with the knowledge and tools needed to manage the ebb and
flow of reference services in today's libraries.

From the ongoing
flood of misinformation to the swift changes occasioned by the pandemic, a
myriad of factors is spurring our profession to rethink reference services.
Luckily, this classic text is back in a newly overhauled edition that
thoughtfully addresses the evolving reference landscape. Designed to complement
every introductory library reference course, Cassell and Hiremath's book also
serves as the perfect resource to guide current practitioners in their
day-to-day work. It teaches 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 experts, this thoroughly updated text presents chapters covering
fundamental concepts, major reference sources, and special topics while also
offering fresh insights on timely issues, including

• a
  basic template for the skills required and expectations demanded of the
  reference librarian;


• the
  pandemic?s effect on reference services and how the ingenuity employed by
  libraries in providing remote and virtual reference is here to stay;


• a
  new chapter dedicated to health information, with a special focus on
  health equity and information sources;


• selecting
  and evaluating reference materials, with strategies for keeping up to
  date;


• a
  heightened emphasis on techniques for evaluating sources for
  misinformation and ways to give library users the tools to discern facts
  vs. ?fake facts?;


• reference
  as programming, readers? advisory services, developmentally appropriate
  material for children and young adults, and information literacy;


• evidence-based
  guidance on handling microaggressions in reference interactions, featuring
  discussions of cultural humility and competence alongside recommended
  resources on implicit bias;


• managing,
  assessing, and improving reference services; and


• the
  future of information and reference services, encapsulating existing
  models, materials, and services to project possible evolutions in the
  dynamic world of reference.

Although this book is chiefly for newer librarians, it will lead everyone along new pathways via the resources cited in the tables and lists. Many of these will date or evaporate; others will remain constant. Although it is a US publication, most of the reference sources are employed in associated fields in Australia.

This is an excellent resource for the library of any campus offering library science degrees, or any library with newly graduated librarians.

Table of Contents:

PART I    Fundamental Concepts
1    Introduction to Reference and Information Services
2    Determining the Question: In-Person, Telephone, and Virtual Reference Interviews
3    Finding the Answer: Basic Search Techniques

PART II    Introduction to Major Reference Sources
4    Answering Questions about Books, Magazines, Newspapers, Libraries and Publishing, and Bibliographic Networks?Bibliographic Resources
5    Answering Questions about Anything and Everything?Encyclopedias
6    Answering Questions That Require Handy Facts?Ready Reference Sources
7    Answering Questions about Words?Dictionaries, Concordances, and Manuals
8    Answering Questions about Current Events, Issues and Research Topics?Databases (and Indexes)
9    Answering Questions about Law and Business?Special Guidelines and Sources
10    Answering Questions about Health?Special Guidelines and Sources
Emily Vardell
11    Answering Questions about Geography, Countries, and Travel?Atlases, Gazetteers, Maps, Geographic Information Systems, and Travel Guides
12    Answering Questions about the Lives of People?Biographical Information Sources
13    Answering Questions about Government and Related Issues?Government Information Sources

PART III    Special Topics in Reference and Information Services
14    When and How to Use the Internet as the Primary Reference Tool
15    Reference as Programming
16    Readers? Advisory Services
Maria Fesz and Cindy Orr
17    Reference Services for Children and Young Adults
Melissa Gross
18    Information Literacy in the Reference Department

Part IV    Developing and Managing Reference Collections and Services
19    Selecting and Evaluating Reference Material
20    Managing Reference Departments
21    Assessing and Improving Reference Services
22    Ethics in Reference
Diana Floegel
23    Reference 2.0

24    The Future of Information and Reference Services