Twenty-First Century Reference Collections Webinar
Posted by: Rebecca Vnuk
Just wrapped up the Webinar, Twenty-First Century Reference Collections, hosted by Booklist and sponsored by Encyclopaedia Britannica, M. E. Sharpe, World Book, and ABC-CLIO. We had presentations from each of those publishers as well as from Dave Tyckoson, who’s the Associate Dean at the Henry Madden Library, California State University, Fresno. The panelists all did a stellar job. Dave gave us some historical background and showed how reference books, once the “royalty” of library collections, have been dethroned. He also offered excellent advice on increasing reference book usage. The publishers gave us a tour of some of their latest database and e-book offerings.
Toiling away as I do in the least glamorous section of Booklist, I wasn’t sure what kind of response the Webinar would get. We had more than 2,600 registrants–so many that we had to turn people away. This tells me that people are really hungry for information about where reference collections are headed and what to do with the reference collections in their own libraries.
A complete video archive of the program will be available on Booklist Online within two weeks. It will be housed on the Booklist Online Webinars page.
January 13th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Having to watch the reference desk kept me from attending live. I look forward to the video.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:09 am
I must say that I was deeply disappointed by the webinar. I felt that it was primarily an infomercial for the publishers but was not billed as such. The only part I found valuable as a reference materials selector for a large public library system was the tiny portion alloted to Dave Tyckoson. I already have more than enough access to sales pitches from publishers.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Thanks for your comment, Donna. Although a number of people have said they enjoyed the Webinar and found it useful, we also received some feedback similar to yours, which will be helpful in our future planning.