Managing Reference Today

Reference collections and services have changed considerably in the last three decades. We have moved from all services coming from the reference desk to a more fluid environment where users can be served in person, by phone, email, virtual reference/chat, instant messaging, texting, skyping, etc.

Collections have changed too– from print collections, microfilm, microfiche and microcards to e-resources and e-books plus e-research collections in institutional archives.

Although we see many libraries still providing traditional services, others have begun to move away from this model and try to develop and offer services and collections which will better serve their user population. With technology changing so fast, users expect to communicate with the library in whatever way they choose. They also want to obtain information with little effort on their part.

Managing Reference Today: New Models and Practices

• highlights newly developed service models that libraries are developing as well as the way they are handling changing reference collections.
• describes new ways of providing reference services and new ideas of how to select and manage reference collections.
• Identifies the best practices for meeting the needs of current and future library users in academic, special, and public library settings.

Author Biography

Kay Cassell is presently an Assistant Teaching Professor at the School of Communication and Information, Department of Library and Information Science, at Rutgers University. Her areas of teaching and research include reference services and collection development. Dr. Cassell has been the director of several public libraries and an academic library as well as working as a reference librarian. She was the Associate Director for Collections and Services of the Branch Libraries of the New York Public Library. She served in the Peace Corps in Morocco and was the Director of the Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines. She is active in the American Library Association and served as president of RUSA (Reference and User Services Association). Dr. Cassell has also been the editor of the quarterly journal, Collection Building.