Customer Reviews

Reference and Information Services: An Introduction

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Now in a fully updated and expanded third edition, Reference And Information Services offers detailed discussion on a wide range of reference-related services including interlibrary loan, document delivery, access to networked electronic resources, readers' advisory services, and more. Of special interest on the chapters regarding the Internet and World Wide Web, the attention to ethical issues and the strong focus on user-centered services, both face-to-face and those mediated by technology. Reference And Information Services is an essential reference for library school and professional library reference collections, as well as in-service library training supplement reading resource lists.

This is a great book for learning about reference philosophy, sources, and services. Its one weakness is its lack of coverage of virtual (chat) reference. It briefly mentions "videoconferencing," but with the importance of chat/IM today, along with e-mail, phone, and in-person forms of communication, the reference librarian needs to know how virtual reference systems work and how to implement them. One book about virtual reference that could supplement this text is "Going Live: Starting and Running a Virtual Reference Service," published by the ALA. Also, its chapter on instruction could be rewritten with greater clarity. Otherwise, an outstanding text.

I am a library and information science student, and this was a required text for a class. It is not a poorly written book, but it is very dry to read, and there are alternatives. Introduction to Reference Service in the Digital Age and Reference and Information Services in the 21st century are good alternatives, I especially liked Intro to Reference Service because it wasn't unbearable to read.

A lot can be said abotu Reference and Information Services. It is filled with fantastic information, not only about the various types of reference books (many of which I was unfamiliar with their usage), but also how to provide reference services to library patrons of all types. The information itself was great, the problem was the presentation. With few exceptions, the blandest language was used. Getting through a few pages was often such a chore that I could barely keep my eyes open. However, the biggest flaw was truly the repetition of "evalutation" material. Every type of reference source had a multiple page section on how to evaluate that type of source. In theory, this was a good idea. However, in practice the same thing was simply written again and again and again, with only the slightest changes (if any) for each type of reference. A great improvement to this book would be to simply make one chapter on how to evaluate reference sources. It'd end the repetition, and make the other chapters a bit more enjoyable.

Overall, it's a good text for a course on reference librianship, as long as you can get yourself to read it.

...so it's not all that exciting. It was required, so I didn't really have much of a choice. I'm sure as I move through the School of Library Science, I might find other, more informative texts on reference. I do like that this text gives you numerous examples of the various types of sources and a search strategy, like almanacs, databases, and atlases, and which ones seem most useful for a given audience. The most useful stuff has been on the specific sources.

For my Access to Information course, which is a core course in the graduate library and information science program that I am currently in, this was the required text, and I read most of the book for that class. Seeing as how I am still working on the degree, and that I used this book for a course I took during my very first semester in the program, I am probably not the best judge of the accuracy and presentation of the information. However, I do feel that I have a good understanding of reference librarianship after reading through this text---as well as the other readings that were required for the course. So I'll give the book a good rating.

Some other reviewers have criticized the book for being dry. I'll admit, they're right; but you know what, it's a textbook, so what else can we expect? It is really very unrealistic to expect to be entertained by reading a library/information science textbook. When I first opened this book to begin reading the first chapter, my eyes actually glazed over when I read the first few sentences. My first thoughts were: "Man, this is dry and wordy." But I eventually got into it. And if nothing else, it probably improved my reading comprehension skills a bit.

Provides plenty of detailed information that is helpful for those interested in library reference; does NOT keep you up late at night, wondering how it ends.

REFERENCE AND INFORMATION SERVICES is extraordinarily comprehensive but this version was written in 2006 and it's quite dated--the book makes many references of CD-ROMS and the like. Additionally, the type is tiny! It's actually a little hard to read. Still, the book clocks in at a hefty 617 pages as it is, so I'm not sure they could've made the type any larger.

The book was in perfect shape, and I got it only 2 days after I ordered it. Wonderful!!!

This version is a bit dated but contains useful information to anyone looking to learn more about the role of a reference specialist.