Essentials Webinar

Guide to ReferenceEssentials Webinar

The 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

Who we are

Melissa WoodSales and Marketing Director, ALA Digital Reference

James HennellyManaging Editor, ALA Digital ReferenceSpecial Guest

Denise Beaubien BennettGeneral Editor of Guide to Reference

Preliminaries

Please submit questions through the question function at any time during the presentation.

We’ll answer them during the Q&A at the end.

For any technical difficulties, please direct your questions to Dan Kaplan.

The premier evaluative bibliography

» 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

Library Journal’s 2012 Best Database

Library Journal named Guide to Reference as the Best Database in the Professional Resource Category in 2012.

This award was based on votes from librarians, readers of LJ, and reviewers.

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

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

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

Reference: Current Challenges» Reference questions are fewer but

“harder”

» More questions require subject or content knowledge

» Print and online reference sources not housed together for easy scanning

Reference: 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 can be withdrawn or sent to

circulating stacks

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

Collection Development Current Challenges

» Budget cuts: fewer sources bought

» Dilemma of buying print vs. online

» Convenience of format for staff vs. patrons

» Fewer collection experts; limited staff time

Collection Development 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

» On-the-job training» Differentiate among types of

reference sources and their value and use

» Communicate nature of information-seeking and reference process

Teaching and Training 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 explore the Guide and its features

Getting involved

» Incorporate into LIS assignments

» Create public notes» Become an editor – watch for calls

Wrapping up

» Sign up for a trial» Subscribe at your library» Special offer for LIS programs

» We’ll archive the slides and a video of this webinar sometime next week

Q & A

» We’ll answer your questions!

» Contact us at:» guidetoreference@ala.org » greditor@ala.org

Guide to Reference Essentials Webinars

» Recurring series of webinars every other month

» Please tell your colleagues about the webinars

» Join us again» We welcome any feedback» Contact us at: guidetoreference@ala.org