Keywords
Citation
Pancheshnikov, Y. (2007), "The Reference Collection: From the Shelf to the Web", Collection Building, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 65-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604950710742130
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Electronic materials accessible through the web have become a preferred format for reference collections in different types of libraries and have drawn the attention of librarians because of their impact on technical services, collection development and various aspects of public services.
Unlike other recent publications that deal with the integration of print and electronic content in applications to a variety of material types, this collection focuses on the reference collection only. The book includes 16 papers, most of which are written by librarians representing different types of libraries. The authors discuss various aspects of the transformation of the reference collection, as well as recommending and reviewing electronic reference tools.
The author of the first paper, M. Landesman, takes a broad approach to the problem and describes the evolution of reference materials and reference work in an historical perspective since ancient times. J.M. Morse looks at the transition from the perspective of a publisher and writes about the continuing coexistence of reference publications in both formats. S.C. Boss and M.L. Nelson analyze the role of federated search engines in the reference environment. Two papers deal with educational problems resulting from the proliferation of resources on the web. N. Parker‐Gibson writes about the selection of sources for student assignments; and J.R. Sharkey and C. Bartow Culp, about cyberplagiarism. Three papers focus on issues specific to different types of libraries: academic, public and school. The article on school libraries, by D. Jackson Maxwell, includes an extensive list of references.
The largest portion of the book includes six papers that review web‐based reference tools relevant to different subject areas: humanities, sciences, medicine, social sciences, business and education, as well as free web sites that are of interest to reference librarians working in all types of libraries.
The book contains useful information and is very practical. It can be recommended to librarians working in all types of libraries.