Emerging Solutions In Reference Services

How can you enhance reference services without adding staff? Modern law librarians are under growing pressure to keep up with new technologies, deal instantly with the demands of patrons, keep the library safe and user-friendly, and generally offer the best possible service while keeping costs down. Emerging Solutions in Reference Services: Implications for Libraries in the New Millennium is a very practical guide for coping with rapidly changing technology and increasing demands for services. Its sane, well-researched advice and suggestions can help you deal with the hectic days and nights behind the reference desk. Emerging Solutions in Reference Services suggests up-to-date, innovative ways to deal with the traditional issues confronting librarians, including: handling problem patrons and ensuring security assigning reference responsibilities teaching patrons at the reference desk or on library tours drafting enforceable rules avoiding the unauthorized practice of law charging--or not charging--fees for services cross-training reference personnel Some of the traditional problems of law librarians are solved by computers; others are actually exacerbated by the new technologies available. In addition to finding ways that technology can help law librarians, Emerging Solutions in Reference Services offers solutions for the special problems posed by new technology, including questions of Web design, setting up online reference services, virtual library tours, Internet training for patrons, and ensuring technological competency of staff. In these days of decreasing budgets and increasing demands for services, Emerging Solutions in Reference Services is an invaluable resource for the librarian caught in the middle.

To compete today, librarians need to not only provide old services in new ways but also to provide new services. Repositioning Reference: New Methods and New Services for a New Age re-imagines reference services in libraries and information organizations and the role of reference librarians, taking into account rapid developments in technology and information-specific services in non-library sectors. It traces the history of technology adoption for reference services, describes competitive pressures facing reference services, identifies untapped opportunities for reference services and librarians, details innovative and creative solutions for energizing the profession and engaging library user communities, and prescribes means to evaluating technologies for reference services. This book: • Includes current and unique examples of innovative reference services to serve as inspiration and launching points for readers. • Offers contemporary management theory and practice from outside of the field of LIS to offer readers a guide for initiating, leading, and managing change in their organizations. • Outlines the processes of environmental scanning and SWOT analysis, which are important practices for keeping abreast of changes in the field and positioning an organization to make the most of their opportunities and to minimize threats. Repositioning Reference may be used as a textbook by LIS educators whose courses and learning experiences prepare aspiring librarians to lead the reference revolution and by practicing librarians in diverse settings who want to be change agents.

Get the most out of your reference information systems and technology! Reference Services and Media meets the information challenges that overwhelm and assist us today with computerization, electronics, and telecommunications changes in the reference services of our libraries. As a professional in the library science field, you will discover innovative theories and researched solutions on many technology problems and challenges such as formatting and compatibility, training of reference professionals and library users, costs, and information have and have nots. With the year 2000 and beyond upon us, emerging technologies afford tremendous opportunities for reference librarians and for improved and enhanced public access to information. In Reference Services and Media you will learn about planning for staffing, troubleshooting fund-raising, and budget developing to support the use of information technologies. You will also examine the impact new media has on academic libraries, specifically video and movie clips that are transferred over intranets and internets and their opportunities and legal implications. In Reference Services and Media you will also explore: desktop conferencing and web access for reference services versus personalized contact desktop conferencing with personal computers in remote areas for reference service assistance positive and negative aspects of using each technology in reference use instruction creative methods for procuring funding for an electronic information literary instruction classroom providing a digital library for a state library network raising confidence levels of public service librarians in using electronic resources to answer reference questions Reference Services and Media includes case studies, tables, and an annotated bibliography that serves as a librarian's media reference toolkit, making it essential for effective media reference work. An excellent source for the reference librarian, Reference Services and Media will assist you in adopting and incorporating new information technologies for the present and future.

This book, first published in 1992, establishes a theoretical base for access services while also suggesting connections between theory and practice. It provides fresh thinking that re-examines previous writings in this area, presents new experimental designs and results, creates contemporary organizational solutions, and adopts innovative techniques for increasing users’ access to library materials within constrained budgets. Access services librarians, circulation department librarians, and library managers, especially those who are considering a reorganization that will include access services, will benefit from the philosophical and theoretical articles as well as practical advice on the design, delivery, and evaluation of responsive library services. Chapters in this invaluable book fill the gap in the literature about access services including theoretical descriptions of access services, current developing trends in access services, the historical development of the access services concept, practical studies related to common access services issues, and projections of future challenges.

This book is written to promote academic strategic management and envision future innovations for academic library resources, services and instructions in the digital age. It provides academic executives, consultants, instructors, IT specialists, librarians, LIS students, managers, trainers and other professionals with the latest information for developing trends of emerging technologies applied to student-centred and service-oriented academic learning environments. This book explores various fields where key emerging technologies may have great implications on academic library information technologies, academic library management, academic library information services, and academic library internal operations. Reflects most recent emerging technologies which might impact on library administrations, resources, services and instructions Draws a clear roadmap how and where to monitor emerging technologies which began to emerge under academic library environments Provides practical and realistic suggestions and solutions how to utilize emerging technologies in academic learning environments

1970- issued in 2 vols.: v. 1, General reference, social sciences, history, economics, business; v. 2, Fine arts, humanities, science and engineering.