Providing Reference Services
A Practical Guide for Librarians
By (author) John Gottfried, Katherine Pennavaria
Publication date:
19 May 2017Length of book:
168 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersDimensions:
279x216mm9x11"
ISBN-13: 9781442279117
Providing Reference Services: A Practical Guide for Librarians was written with the working librarian in mind; it focuses on specific methods and information to help foster effective, exceptional results. Topics covered include:
Readers will come away with a solid foundation in reference services. They will have the knowledge to update or restructure an existing reference program, or to create a program from the ground up. Individual chapters and subsections provide constructive tips and advice for specific reference issues. Taken as a whole, this book provides a valuable, inclusive source of information for all major aspects of reference service.
Providing Reference Services is an appropriate resource for nearly all librarians in public-service positions, especially those with reference responsibilities, whether they are working reference librarians at any level of experience, reference supervisors, or administrators with oversight of reference services. The content is relevant to academic, public, school, and special libraries—any library or organization, in fact, that offers reference or research assistance.
- Reference services: basic information and background
- Reference resources and tutorials
- Organizing and providing services
- Staffing and performance management
- Forming helpful partnerships (internal and external)
- The future of reference
Readers will come away with a solid foundation in reference services. They will have the knowledge to update or restructure an existing reference program, or to create a program from the ground up. Individual chapters and subsections provide constructive tips and advice for specific reference issues. Taken as a whole, this book provides a valuable, inclusive source of information for all major aspects of reference service.
Providing Reference Services is an appropriate resource for nearly all librarians in public-service positions, especially those with reference responsibilities, whether they are working reference librarians at any level of experience, reference supervisors, or administrators with oversight of reference services. The content is relevant to academic, public, school, and special libraries—any library or organization, in fact, that offers reference or research assistance.
The thirty-second title in Rowman & Littlefield’s Practical Guides for Librarians series is a thoughtful review of reference services. Its seven chapters sketch the history of reference services, assess today’s reference collections, outline the basics of reference practice, address reference staff management and administration, examine marketing and collaboration efforts, and consider the future of reference services. Each chapter includes a summary of key points and a list of references. Newly minted reference librarians, seasoned practitioners, and reference supervisors and administrators working in public, academic, school, or special libraries, along with LIS students, will find much to ponder in these pages. The authors are both librarians and professors at Western Kentucky University.