Rothstein On Reference With Some Help From Friends

Now library professionals can enjoy the convenience of having 16 of Sam Rothstein's most memorable papers, spanning over three decades, all in one lively book. Samuel Rothstein--practitioner, teacher, and scholar--has influenced the thinking and practice of more reference librarians who are currently practicing than has any other single individual. In his honor, the editors of Rothstein on Reference not only feature Rothstein's seminal writing, but they have also included essays written by Rothstein's colleagues--including Charles Curran, Robert Hauptman, Marilyn Domas White, and Mary Biggs--that explore important issues confronting reference librarians today. Reference librarians and library historians will gain insights into the development of reference service in American libraries, the evaluation of reference services, the training and education of reference librarians, and much more. Both beginners and experts in the reference field will find much here for inspiration and enlightenment.

The Image and Role of the Librarian addresses all aspects of professional identity for librarians, including professional roles, cultural images, popular perceptions, and future trends. The book examines historical representations, stereotypes, and popular culture icons and the role each plays in the relationship between librarian and patron. The book also looks at the profound impact the Internet has had on the services librarians provide and how electronic resources have transformed the roles and responsibilities of librarians.

This insightful book shows you how to deal with an issue as old as the library profession: interacting with problem patrons. It looks at this fact of life that affects almost every facet of library work and provides practical solutions--some developed within the field and some borrowed from other professions--that will improve reference services for those you serve and make the work of your library staff less stressful, more productive, and increasingly meaningful. Helping the Difficult Library Patron: New Approaches to Examining and Resolving a Long-Standing and Ongoing Problem examines: the nature of the problem from historical and demographic perspectives ways of dealing with the problem in academic and public libraries competency-based training techniques that will empower your frontline staff the impact of new technologies such as cellular phones and the Internet and ways of dealing with the new breeds of difficult patrons that come with them solutions from our colleagues what we can learn from the perspectives of others--psychotherapists, businesspeople, and corporate managers--you even get a Zen Buddhist viewpoint! effective ways to utilize community resources such as campus and local police and much, much more! Nowhere in the library literature have so many practitioners and educators combined their efforts to examine and provide solutions to this ageless problem. Library administrators, staff, and educators will find Helping the Difficult Library Patron a matchless resource!

A problem patron is not one with difficult requests or obscure interests, but one who displays behavior that is deemed destructive, criminal, bothersome, offensive, or otherwise inappropriate. Librarians look at the nature of the problem in academic and public libraries, the impact of such technologies as the Internet and cell phones, and solutions from other professions as well as from the experience of librarians.

Learn the skills needed to update and manage a reference department that efficiently meets the needs of clients today—and tomorrow! Managing the Twenty-First Century Reference Department: Challenges and Prospects provides librarians with the knowledge and skills they need to manage an effective reference service. Full of useful and practical ideas, this book presents successful methods for recruiting and retaining capable reference department staff and management, training new employees and adapting current services to an evolving field. Expert practitioners address the changing role of the reference library worker and how longstanding traditions and practices can be re-evaluated and re-applied. The information in this book is ideal for librarians and students of library studies looking to take their skills to the next level. Reference departments continue to evolve as the number of applicants qualified to run them declines. Managing the Twenty-First Century Reference Department: Challenges and Prospects explores the dynamics of leadership and management as well as a variety of other characteristics needed in a Head of Reference. It recognizes the increasing need for visionary leaders who can deal with shrinking budgets, soaring costs, expensive electronic resources, and high user expectations and provides you with practical advice on finding, training, and keeping these individuals. In addition to the training and recruitment techniques documented in this book, you will find extensive information on: setting and achieving goals creating and maintaining a positive work environment how to deliver quality services how to improve job satisfaction for library staff problem solving strategies the importance of communication making your reference department task- and employee-centered Managing the Twenty-First Century Reference Department: Challenges and Prospects also provides an inside look at Oregon State University’s Valley Library’s new management model. The library’s information professionals detail this new model’s current function, potential hazards, and multiple advantages. The user-friendly information documented in this chapter and in the book as a whole makes Managing the Twenty-First Century Reference Department: Challenges and Prospects an essential read for any librarian or student of library studies looking to meet the demands of an increasingly technical field.

This comprehensive volume recounts the ways reference librarians have adapted traditional services to deal with the changes in both information technologies and library patrons. New Technologies and Reference Services shows how to provide needed services using videoconferencing, interactive classrooms, drop-in seminars, and required courses. It also discusses the other implications of new technologies, including developing trends in publishing, copyright issues, collection strategies, and decentralizing library reference services.

Become more versatile, competent, and resourceful with these practical suggestions! Becoming a first-class reference librarian demands proficiency in a wide range of skills. Doing the Work of Reference offers sound advice for the full spectrum of your responsibilities. Though many aspects of a reference librarian's work are changing with astonishing speed, the classic principles in this volume will never go out of date. This comprehensive volume begins with hints for orienting yourself to a new job and concludes with ideas for serving the profession. On the way, Doing the Work of Reference covers such diverse topics as working with student assistants, offering reference services to remote users, and keeping up your professional development. In addition, you will find strategies for dealing with technological change--not high-tech information that will become obsolete before the ink is dry, but ways of approaching the process of change that will work today, next week, and ten years from now. Doing the Work of Reference will help you increase your competence in: getting along with other staff members marketing the library to users and faculty handling ephemeral materials keeping students’attention in library instruction courses maintaining good relations with faculty increasing your subject knowledge and much more! This comprehensive guide is an essential handbook for librarians in the trenches. Whether you are a new librarian or a veteran at the reference desk, Doing the Work of Reference will help you burnish your skills.

Explore ways to bring and keep your library’s electronic services up to date!From editor Di Su: “Some years ago, if you were told that a library’s catalog would be available on a 24/7/365 basis, you’d think it was just another fiction. Perhaps as influential as Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of movable type printing, the Internet is one of the most significant happenings in the information world in modern times.”In addition to showing you how library services have been influenced and enhanced by the advent of the Internet, Evolution in Reference and Information Services: The Impact of the Internet will enable you to make the most of the new opportunities that current technologies offer. This valuable book will also help you and your library avoid the pitfalls and new challenges to professional competency that come along with electronic research.Evolution in Reference and Information Services: gives you a review of the history of electronic reference looks at the increasing role of librarians as teachers and providers of technical help for users provides case studies and ways to evaluate electronic research methods suggests strategies for providing effective electronic services examines government Web sites explores Internet sources of health information shows you how to establish electronic services through your library’s portal site looks at how to manage a library computer lab and much more!