Reference Services In The Humanities

This study explored the perspectives and information behaviors of scholars in the humanities. The following general questions were examined: How do humanities scholars think about, organize, and perform their research? How are information sources used throughout the research process? And, how do electronic information sources affect work practices? In addition, the research also looked at two specific questions related to research library collections and services: What functions and characteristics make one resource better than another? And, how can the traditional role of the library as a repository for printed works be reconciled with the provision of virtual, unallocated resources? Participants were 33 humanities scholars from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago. Data were collected by project-based semi-structured interviews, selected case studies, and follow-up semi-structured interviews. Findings are reported in the following areas: (1) ways of reading, including chaining to enable reading; (2) collaborative networking; (3) researching and searching, including collections as capital, many states of primary materials, multitude of sources, access tools for speed and scope, diverse skills and strategies, generic searching problems, and browsing across collections and tools; and (4) ways of writing, including information management, accretion, and refinement, as well as oscillating and overlapping synthesis work. One of the last sections is "Trends: The Evolving Information Environment for Humanists." Methods are appended. (Contains 29 references.) (MES)

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 useful book helps reference librarians understand the information seeking needs and behaviors of the diverse groups of people in the communities they serve. With the increasing diversity of the American population, librarians striving to plan and deliver excellent reference services must enhance their understanding of how best to assist many types of individuals and groups, from children to the elderly. Library Users and Reference Services provides much-needed help in this area, delivering strategies and methods to aid readers in their quest for increasingly effective service for all members of the communities in which they work.Library Users and Reference Services is divided into four sections of chapters which cover a broad range of topics to assist readers in planning and delivering appropriate services. Section One explores customer service, economics of information, and marketing as key concepts useful in studying information needs of specific groups in the population. Section Two focuses on scholars and students in three broad academic disciplines: science, humanities, and social sciences. Section Three covers groups with special characteristics such as age, economic standing, gender, or profession. Section Four discusses evaluation and provides guidance in the use of the most widely accepted measures for assessing reference effectiveness.The book’s final chapter explores redesigning reference services for the future, providing a glimpse of how such services may change. Library Users and Reference Services is a practical guide to help readers understand the many issues related to serving diverse populations in a community. Reference librarians and graduate library school students and faculty will learn more effective ways to help a heterogeneous public with the help of this new book.

Library authorities address the increasing significance of reference services and the increasing need for evaluation of those services to further ensure professionalism and efficiency.

In Philosophies of Reference Service, reference librarians share with you their reflective thinking about what they do as service providers. An important addition to the personal and occupational library of anyone in reference services, this book discusses the origins of reference service, its founding principles, the pleasures and pitfalls of the reference encounter, delivering high-quality service, and much, much more In a clever juxtaposition of the fundamentals of reference service provision with top-notch thinking about the role of the reference librarian and what makes a reference unit effective, Philosophies of Reference Service advocates for continuing familiarity with books in the reference section, recognizing the diversity of service users, and using collegiality in the work environment to boost productivity. It discusses why reference service should move toward instructing people in mediums, not systems, as well as: achieving consistency in reference service through "shared values" the concept of tiered reference services (based on survey research) the little-discussed "art" of reference desk scheduling the importance of knowing your user and making appropriate accommodations partnerships in reference services techniques for conducting reference rovering the advantages of print fostering widely grounded research through reference service why reference librarians share with the corporate world many of the same desired outcomes with regard to service provision Designed to assist readers in defining and developing their own approaches to reference service delivery, Philosophies of Reference Service offers reference librarians insight, practical knowledge, and guidelines for keeping on top of new reference techniques, establishing a partnership between the library and the user population, and maximizing the helpful nature of reference service.

This helpful book provides practical insight into the work and environment of reference services in the humanities. Librarian?s mental maps of humanities reference materials must include an awareness of the metaphoric, not too precise nature of many patrons’queries. Reference Services in the Humanities discusses the structure of literature in the humanities and how it matches or challenges mental images of the field. Chapters are infused with the issues of language, names, and meaning within a metaphoric genre. The book serves as a guide to humanist?s use of metaphoric language and also as a bibliography of sources. Reference Services in the Humanities contains specific references for finding materials in areas that are not traditional, mainstream arts. This sample of disciplines provides case studies depicting each field?s particular idiosyncrasies. Chapters examine the challenge of referral reference and common problems encountered in searching for answers to patrons’questions. The book contains a theoretical framework for interacting with patrons and addresses options for humanities reference in an electronic age. This book brings together librarians and researchers who provide and manage reference services to a wide array of disciplines within the humanities. Authors come from all types of libraries and represent a broad spectrum of patrons, from the young student curious about the movies to practicing musicians and craftspersons. This diversity provides an informative grounding for practitioners and library school students and faculty who wish to become effective reference librarians in the future. Reference Services in the Humanities is divided into four sections which address research questions and challenges in selected disciplines, descriptions from the field, political issues in the humanities, and theories and ideas for the future. Specific topics explored include access to special collections, censorship, library resources for theater artists, history research, vocabulary control, labeling of minorities, craft information sources, and much more.

As classrooms and universities strive to adapt their instructional methods to an ever progressing technological age, it is imperative that academic libraries also revisit the ways in which reference and instruction services are organized and implemented. Library Reference Services and Information Literacy: Models for Academic Institutions not only advocates for a more intentional integration of reference and instructional services, but it also provides organizational background, staff objectives, and various successes and challenges that have already been experienced by real institutions. This publication is an important reference source for librarians, practitioners, and university leaders who wish to maximize the current utilization of their resources.