Essentials Webinar

Guide to ReferenceEssentials Webinar

Welcome

Today we’ll introduce you to Guide to Reference, a foundational tool for librarians, teachers, researchers, students, and other library users. We’ll show you how it can help you in your work.

Our goal today

We’ll show you how to leverage Guide to Reference to support your work in the following areas:

» Reference» Collection development» Teaching and training

Who we are

Alison ElmsSales and Marketing CoordinatorALA Digital ReferenceFormer reference librarian

James HennellyManaging EditorALA Digital Reference

Troy LinkerPublisher, ALA Digital Reference

Preliminaries

If you have questions, please submit them through the public Chat function during the presentation.

We’ll collect your questions and answer them during the webinar and during the Q&A at the end.

For any technical difficulties, please send a private Chat to ALA Publishing Webinar Host.

Guide to Reference is

“(1) a reference manual . . . ; (2) a selection aid for the librarian; (3) a textbook for the student who . . . is pursuing a systematic study of reference books.”

Constance Winchell

Preface to the 8th edition, 1967

A gateway to reference sources

» A comprehensive collection of sources

» Answers reference questions» Directs researchers to resources» Creates local instructional materials» Inventories and develops reference

collections» Educates and trains students and

reference staff

A long & distinguished history

» First published in 1902 as Guide to the Study and Use of Reference Books: A Manual for Librarians, Teachers, and Students

» Published in 11 print editions between 1902 and 1996

» Known by previous editor names: Mudge, Winchell, Sheehy, and Balay

» In 2008, Guide to Reference goes online

The premier evaluative bibliography

» One of the main cornerstones of reference librarianship since 1902

» Reflects the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of the reference community over many years

» Continues to serve as a center for learning about and practicing reference librarianship

» Some call it “the Bible” of reference sources

How does the Guide do it?

» It’s selective and broad in coverage» It gives you nearly 17,000 of the

best and most authoritative reference sources in 56 disciplines arranged under 6 major subject divisions, with in-depth annotations

» It’s kept up-to-date by an Editorial Board and 70+ contributing editors—your colleagues and peers in the reference community

Selection criteria

» Usefulness – How useful? How often used?

» Breadth of scope – How broadly focused?

» Quality – How accurate and complete?

» Imprint date – How current?» Language – In English?

Traditional strengths

» Titles are chosen by reference librarians and subject experts

» In-depth evaluative annotations» Broad subject coverage: General

Reference Works; Humanities; Social and Behavioral Sciences; History and Area Studies; Science, Technology, and Medicine

New strengths

» Sources include cutting-edge online resources and websites, free and licensed

» Powerful and versatile search and browse

» Interactive features that let you save and share your work

» New interdisciplinary fields: Cognitive Science; Communication/Media Studies; Environmental, Cultural, and Gender Studies

Our goal restated

We’ll show you how to leverage Guide to Reference to support your work in the following areas:

» Reference» Collection development» Teaching and training

The advantages of being online

» Quickly browse and search in many subject areas

» Customize and save your searches» Create lists of resources and share» Add notes/comments to titles and

share» Hyperlink among titles inside and

outside the Guide» Connect to local holdings via

WorldCat

Three major points of entry

» Home page – take a trial; subscribe; participate and connect

» Browse page – see the subject organization of the Guide at a glance

» Advanced Search page – construct and manage your searches

Doing Reference work» Direct library users to

best/authoritative sources for answers

» Train and orient new reference staff and students/paraprofessional staff

» Create subject bibliographies and finding aids.

Let’s talk about your work

Reference» Direct library users to best and most

authoritative sources for answers

» Train and orient new reference staff and students/paraprofessional staff

» Create subject bibliographies, finding aids, and instructional materials

Current challenges» Reference questions are fewer but

“harder”

» More questions require subject or content knowledge

» Too much dependence on Google and other search engines

How the Guide can help» Find best sources quickly by drilling

down into taxonomy and by refining searches

» Use Editor’s Guides for orientation» Use annotations for guidance» Create lists of resources for

bibliographies and finding aids» Save your best searches for regular

use

Collection development» Evaluate your collection:

» What’s missing» What needs to be updated» What should be retired

» Build collections for new programs and for special libraries (law, medicine, corporate)

Current challenges» Making do with less: Budget cuts

» Print vs. online sources

» Buying for library staff vs. library users

» Small collection development staff; limited staff time

How the Guide can help» Use Editor’s Guides to understand

shape and direction of reference literature

» Use annotations to compare resources

» Create lists of titles for possible purchase and share with colleagues

» Add notes/comments to titles that should be updated or retired

» Customize and save searches to run at regular intervals

Teaching and training» Introduce next generation of

reference librarians to reference sources and reference practices

» Differentiate among types of reference sources and their value and use

» Communicate nature of information-seeking and reference process

Current challenges» Value of bibliographies and

traditional reference works in an online world

» Difference between print and online sources

» Too much dependence on Google and other search engines

How the Guide can help» Orient students to the taxonomy» Ask students to read Editor’s Guides» Ask students to evaluate different

resources based on their annotations

» Ask students to find best resources for answering questions

» Ask students to create subject guides

» Create lists of resources for class projects

Let’s take a look at the Guide

Begin with Browse

» Orient yourself to complete taxonomy on Browse page; 6 major subject divisions and 56 subject categories

» Drill down into different subject categories

» Move through deeper levels of subject categories to refine search

» Pay attention to Editor’s Guides along the way

Take advantage of Editor’s Guides

» They discuss overall shape of reference literature in different subject areas

» They discuss characteristics of the literature outside the scope of annotations

» They discuss changes to publishing and research patterns caused by the online revolution

» They’re written by the Editorial Board and contributing editors

You can search for Editor’s Guides

Continue with Search

Two ways to search:

» Single-Box search: Search all record fields at same time (Title, Author, Annotation, Publisher)

» Advanced search: Search by different record fields; combine search terms with Boolean operators

If you like your search, save it and run it later

Rely on the Annotations

» Annotations are written by experts

» They describe and evaluate essential features of reference sources» Intention» Coverage» Content» Arrangement

Annotations will help you

» Understand the history of a resource

» Understand the utility of a resource

» Understand the value and reputation of a resource

» Compare and contrast resources

» You can search for annotations by keyword

Make the Guide your ownwith Interactive Features

» Create a User Profile so you can save your work

» Customize and save your searches

» Create lists of titles and share/export

» Add your notes/comments to titles and share with your colleagues

» Create your own mini-Guide by saving a subset of your favorite titles

Q & A

We’re ready to answer your questions

Wrapping up

» Taking a trial» Subscribing» Special offer for LIS programs

» We’ll archive this webinar» Please take our survey

Guide to Reference Essentials Webinars

» Recurring series of webinars every other month

» Please tell your colleagues about the webinars

» Join us again» We look forward to your feedback

» Contact us at: guidetoreference@ala.org