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Last year, when I was working on the 2008 Reference Books Bulletin Encyclopedia Update, I noticed that World Book Encyclopedia came with a Mixed Sources label from the Forest Stewardship Council, meaning “wood comes from FSC certified well managed forests, company controlled sources and/or recycled material.” Ever since then I’ve been looking for evidence of [...]

The catalogue raisonné is a wonderful and specialized category of art reference source whose ideals include completeness and authority, but which invariably falls short of at least the former ideal.  Publication brings to light a statement of what is known by an expert or team of experts about an artist’s works; at the same time, it is an invitation (reluctant, [...]

A classic reference title is now available online.  Gale/Cengage announced at ALA that the 17 volume Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia has been transformed to an interactive, media-rich online product (yes, this means subscription).  Touted as a knowledge portal, Grzimek’s will feature over 4000 species.  The online product will include audio tracks, maps, photos, videos, interactive [...]

During our panel discussion “Rethinking the Reference Collection” at ALA, the question came up – how do you measure the use of your reference collection?  Each of the panelists enthusiastically suggested a local “checkout” of the reference items before they are reshelved.  I must say that I do the same thing at my institution.  Several [...]

This morning in the McCormick Center RBB hosted a lively and informative program, “Rethinking the Reference Collection,” in a packed room in the new West wing of the convention center.  Dave Tyckoson, head of reference services from Fresno State spoke from the academic libraries viewpoint; Barbara Bibel, reference librarian from Oakland Public Library spoke from [...]

We are in the midst of a large weeding project in our reference collection here at the Wright State University Libraries.  We have about 19,000 volumes and need to decrease this by 1/3 in order to accommodate some new computers in our information commons.  I’m sure this is a common practice in libraries today.  As [...]

Catherine Ross, Kirsti Nilsen and Marie Radford are the authors of the just released (June 30, 2009) 2nd edition of Conducting the Reference Interview: A How to do it Manual from Neal-Schuman.  Since I’ve used the first edition every time I’ve taught a reference services class, I’m quite excited to see the new edition.

ALA Editions’ newest reference source is the 2nd edition of Saricks’ Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. A long time favorite of LIS educators and readers’ advisory for its overviews of 16 genres of popular fiction, lists of Sure Bets and RA interview advice for genre readers.

This summer I am teaching the required course in reference and information services for the MLIS program at St Catherine’s University in St. Paul, MN. For most of the students this is the second or third class and many are still unsure what kind of library work they want to do after graduation. Over the [...]