Essential Reference Services for Today's School Media Specialists [Paperback]

Scott Lanning (Author), John Bryner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2004 | ISBN-10: 1591581370 | ISBN-13: 978-1591581376

This book was developed for a course the authors co-teach in essential reference skills knowledge for school library media specialists. It focuses on core reference skills, current electronic and print resources, and leadership in teaching reference in K-12 school libraries. The authors have reviewed the AASL guidelines Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning and focus on how school media specialists can assist students in becoming information literate by teaching core reference and information processing skills and by building an excellent reference collection in their school media centers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Individuals who are considering a career in library science, veterans who are in need of a review of current practices, and library-school students would all benefit from this overview. Chapters address such topics as "Information Literacy," "Evaluating Reference Sources," "Library Catalogs," "Searching the Web," "Creating Electronic Library Resources," "Core Curriculum and Collaboration," and "Evaluation of Reference Service." The book is organized with clearly labeled headings and subheadings and has a clear and direct writing style that employs the effective use of analogy. The practical, basic information appeals to those who need a quick, "to-the-point" update on a variety of current topics, particularly in reference services.–Beth Jones, Shelby County High School, Shelbyville, KY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Lanning and Bryner’s 2004 book has been updated to reflect the new learning-skills standards of the American Association of School Librarians. The content focuses on core reference skills, electronic resources, and leadership. The first few chapters discuss information literacy, evaluation of resources, the role of print resources, and the reference interview. These are followed by chapters on the library catalog, electronic resources, and the Web as a reference tool. Finally, there are several chapters dealing with the teacher-librarians’ instructional and leadership roles. The authors use a very accessible tone while providing the basics. A chapter on information-seeking behaviors would have been a good addition. However, for a simple introduction to reference services for teacher-librarians, this book does a satisfactory job. --Lesley Farmer --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Libraries Unlimited (April 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591581370
• ISBN-13: 978-1591581376
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,107,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reference Services for Today's School Media Specialists, September 24, 2005

By 

Andrea Figart "A Figart" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential Reference Services for Today's School Media Specialists (Paperback)

This is a great introductory title for Reference Services as well as serving as an overview of all library related services and resources. Scott Lanning encapsulates information into brief explanations while giving great examples to further understanding. It's a great book for LIS students because Lanning does in one chapter what professors spend an ENTIRE semester teaching, and Lanning does it in a way that's easy to understand! I wish I would have had this resource at the beginning of my Library and Information Science coursework- it really would have helped make all the esoteric theories more concrete and understandable.

3.0 out of 5 stars reference services, February 5, 2011

By 

kellychaney - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Essential Reference Services for Today's School Media Specialists (Paperback)

This book took a boring subject - reference services - an actually breathed into it a breath of life. Good ideas and sound practices to use to make reference services user friendly are mixed in with scenarios to give a real world feel to the advice.

4.0 out of 5 stars essential Reference Services, October 5, 2010

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Essential Reference Services for Today's School Media Specialists (Paperback)

The book has been quite useful in my Indiana State University class. Its brevity belies the concentration of information that it presents the reader on various aspects of library reference services.

Frank Johns