Birth of a Reference Work
Posted by: Barbara Bibel
I just returned from New York, where I participated in a librarians’ focus group at Oxford University Press. Oxford is launching a new reference source, Oxford Bibliographies Online, which demonstrates the evolution of reference sources. We have all used print subject bibliographies. They used to be important sources. When is the last time that you reached for one? Can you even find one on your shelves? Do your patrons know what a bibliography is? Oxford has taken the bibliography and transformed it into an electronic reference tool. Leading scholars in several disciplines have written introductory essays about their fields and produced guides to the essential literature to help students get started with their research. Libraries may subscribe to as many modules as they need. The modules currently available are Classics, Islamic Studies, Criminology, Social Work, Renaissance, Philosophy, and Atlantic History. Biblical Studies, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Medieval Studies will appear in the Fall. Fifteen more are in development. Oxford involved librarians in the development of this product by asking for input about their needs and the needs of their patrons. It is their first online-only product. It was interesting to see how the Oxford staff worked to create it and it will be interesting to see how it is received by librarians and patrons.
