Reference and Information Services: An Introduction (3rd ed.)

Citation

Anghelescu, H.G.B. (2002), "Reference and Information Services: An Introduction (3rd ed.)", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 58 No. 5, pp. 598-599. https://doi.org/10.1108/jd.2002.58.5.598.7

This is the book that most US and Canadian library and information science (LIS) schools use for the basic reference course that may have various names such as “Access to information”, “Information resources”, or “Reference and information services” but all prepare LIS students for work at the reference desk. Both general editors are professors at one of the premier library schools in the USA, the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign. The 22 contributors, LIS educators and practitioners, are affiliated with a range of 12 US universities. This third edition is a fully updated and expanded version of the previous edition, published a decade ago, in 1991. All of the chapters have been extensively revised and many of them have been rewritten altogether by the authors of the second edition or by different contributors.

The volume consists of two sections: Part I is entitled “Concepts and processes” and Part II is devoted to “Information sources and their use”. Part I covers issues and introduces the beginning student to the history, philosophy, and ethics of the reference work. The reference interview, bibliographic instruction, and services to specific populations focus on the beneficiaries of reference services, the users and their information needs. The selection and evaluation of reference resources both print and non‐print, bibliographic control, organization and management of reference services, staff training and continuing education focus on the information providers and the resources they rely on in the process of intermediating the access to information. The organization of information in various formats and the search strategies discuss the information storage and retrieval processes and mechanisms. This new edition offers detailed discussion on database architecture and access to electronic resources such as commercial databases, CD‐ROMs, and the Internet as well as criteria for evaluation of these resources. Special emphasis is placed on strategies to provide user‐centered services both in face‐to‐face and technology‐mediated interactions.

The introductory chapter of Part II offers general selection and evaluation criteria of various sources that are essential in the reference work to be further discussed individually in subsequent chapters. In their presentation of these resources – directories, almanacs, handbooks, yearbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, indexes, government documents, as well as biographical, biographic, and statistical sources – all contributors follow a uniform discussion pattern that begins with the uses and characteristics of each type of resources, accompanied by criteria for evaluation and selection to end with tips on search strategies. Each chapter is enhanced by a comprehensive list of resources proceeding to a bibliography of additional readings with brief annotations of major articles on that specific topic.

The volume is enhanced by two indexes: an author/title index that contains all the resources featured and a subject index that ensures quick access to the topics discussed. Overall, the third edition, with its 617 pages, is 134 pages longer than the 483‐page second edition. While it is 28 per cent longer with respect to number of pages, expansion of the work is greater than this because the new version is more comprehensive, covers more resources and issues, and provides a significantly more in‐depth treatment of electronic resources and search strategies.

The volume was released in January 2001. After it was used for a year for the basic reference course at the Library and Information Science Program at Wayne Sate University, the 112 students were asked if they planned to keep the book for further use or if they considered selling it back to the store. Only ten students (9 per cent) said that they would sell it, mostly for financial reasons. The others expressed comments like:

Initially I was intimidated by the length of the book and the small print. Surprisingly, I have used the text extensively not only for the reference class but also for other classes I am taking in this program.

The text is written in a language that is easy to understand and not too technical.

I found this book very helpful and resourceful for my job at a reference desk in a small public library.

I will definitely keep my copy. I feel it will prove very useful in my future work as a librarian.

The way the text discusses all aspects of reference work (from the interview to the challenges of customer‐oriented services) and the actual examples of print and electronic resources really help the students clarify what reference services are about.

A few students commented on the physical structure of the book:

At $50 I don’t think the book binding should fall apart after two months of usage by one person only.

The volume is highly recommended to beginning LIS students who are provided with an overview of both concepts and processes behind today’s reference services as well as with an extensive explanation of various types of resources used by information providers in order to find answers to the information needs of their patrons. A sturdier binding would help prolong the life of a resourceful book on information resources.