Introduction to Reference and Information Services in Today's School Library

by Lesley S.J. Farmer

Students come to the school library every day with questions ranging from “How many people live in China?” to “I need to find out how the Sun began for my science paper.” Helping students find the answers to their questions is one of the most important responsibilities school librarians have.

In Introduction to Reference and Information Services in Today's School Library, one of America’s premier school library educators covers the A-Z of both reference and information services for today’s library.

Everything from teaching students how to use sources to both in-person and virtual reference service is covered. A key feature of the text is an annotated bibliography of core print and electronic sources for elementary, middle, and high school collections.

Yes, reference and information services are vital library functions in the digital age. Even students who appear to be tech savvy have trouble finding the right information efficiently - and knowing what to do with it. This book examines information needs and behaviors, and provides strategies for assessing and meeting the informational needs of the school community. The book also addresses the conditions for optimum physical access (including virtual access), effective interaction and collaboration, instructional design, and systematic planning. Newer issues such as embedded librarianship, curation,collective intelligence, and web 2.0 intellectual property are also addressed. This book introduces the entering professional, and updates practitioners, to current standards and useful strategies.

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the textbook for my summer class: Youth Reference Services. 2 stars is probably generous! I'll admit that I stopped doing much more than skimming after the first couple of weeks. It's terribly dull (even the professor admitted that, which, then why did you assign it?) AND outrageously overpriced. I went with a $60 paper copy instead of the $44 Kindle version on the blind hope that at least I might be able to resell a paper copy. It's not that the information isn't good or relevant, it is, it's just that this job, not unlike teaching, is best learned ON the job.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a ton of information about providing reference services. It is not only for school librarians, as I came away with some new information as well.