Reference and Information Services in the 21st Century

Download or read book Reference and Information Services in the 21st Century written by Kay Ann Cassell and published by Neal-Schuman Publishers. This book was released on 2011 with total page 461 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This textbook and ready reference for today's reference-services librarian nicely combines theory and practical application. The authors utilized an advisory board and focus groups as well as their own significant expertise and experience to create a new approach to a basic facet of librarianship. They address the classic practices of using the reference interview to identify the question and instructing individual users to find authoritative answers rather than quantities of information. Next, they zero in on how to answer types of questions, suggesting the best available resources, print and electronic. Other sections discuss such topics as readers'-advisory work, user instruction, assessing reference services, and the impact of technology on reference functions. This volume will be useful to library-school students, current reference practitioners, and library managers.