Ranking the Reference Books:

Limitations on both time and human memory make it impossible for the reference librarian or staff member to become aware of even a fraction of all the reference sources that have been published. There is, however, a small number of basic, fundamental or "key" sources that are widely used or widely recommended. In all likelihood these sources will answer a high proportion of all the questions that may appropriately be answered by published reference materials. This paper explores a number of ways that these "key" reference sources may be identified. The author concludes that a knowledge of the types or categories of reference materials that exist and what each type will do best, along with a knowledge of a corpus of basic, fundemental or "key" reference titles, will contribute to a firm foundation for effective and efficient reference service.     

Ranking the Reference Books:

Limitations on both time and human memory make it impossible for the reference librarian or staff member to become aware of even a fraction of all the reference sources that have been published. There is, however, a small number of basic, fundamental or "key" sources that are widely used or widely recommended. In all likelihood these sources will answer a high proportion of all the questions that may appropriately be answered by published reference materials. This paper explores a number of the ways that these "key" reference sources may be identified. The author concludes that a knowledge of the types or categories of reference materials that exist and what each type will do best, along with a knowledge of a corpus of basic, fundamental or "key" reference titles, will contribute to a firm foundation for effective and efficient reference service.     

An introductory guide to drug reference sources

A huge number of drug reference sources exist. For the librarian new to the drug information field, choosing the appropriate source to answer a reference question can be difficult. This paper presents some common drug reference questions and some of the American, British, and Canadian tools best suited to answering them.     

Information intervention in the pharmaceutical sciences

Professional guidelines state that higher-order thinking skills are a desirable outcome of pharmacy education. In this context, courses in pharmaceutics at the University of Southern California are taught in a learner-centered manner that requires use of chemical reference sources and interpretation of physicochemical information for drug molecules. To facilitate these activities, a librarian worked with faculty to design a class on reference sources and primary literature. Students believed the librarian instruction was beneficial. After the intervention, faculty fielded fewer information-related questions and the librarian received more sophisticated questions. The class emphasizes the importance of collaboration between librarians and faculty in achieving these results.     

Personal digital assistant-based drug information sources: potential to improve medication safety.

OBJECTIVES: This study compared the potential for personal digital assistant (PDA)-based drug information sources to minimize potential medication errors dependent on accurate and complete drug information at the point of care. METHODS: A quality and safety framework for drug information resources was developed to evaluate 11 PDA-based drug information sources. Three drug information sources met the criteria of the framework: Eprocrates Rx Pro, Lexi-Drugs, and mobileMICROMEDEX. Medication error types related to drug information at the point of care were then determined. Forty-seven questions were developed to test the potential of the sources to prevent these error types. Pharmacists and physician experts from Creighton University created these questions based on the most common types of questions asked by primary care providers. Three physicians evaluated the drug information sources, rating the source for each question: 1=no information available, 2=some information available, or 3 = adequate amount of information available. RESULTS: The mean ratings for the drug information sources were: 2.0 (Eprocrates Rx Pro), 2.5 (Lexi-Drugs), and 2.03 (mobileMICROMEDEX). Lexi-Drugs was significantly better (mobileMICROMEDEX t test; P=0.05; Eprocrates Rx Pro t test; P=0.01). CONCLUSION: Lexi-Drugs was found to be the most specific and complete PDA resource available to optimize medication safety by reducing potential errors associated with drug information. No resource was sufficient to address the patient safety information needs for all cases.     

“My mother can't quite understand why I decided to go to library school”: What patrons say about library staff when asking government documents reference questions at depository libraries

This article examines the written comments of proxies participating in an unobtrusive nationwide study of government documents reference service in Canada. Proxies submitted overviews about the quality of reference service they received. On the whole, proxies were disappointed in how they were treated by depository library staff. For example, reference personnel were criticized for providing numerous unmonitored referrals, telling users that the questions were too difficult, and for not being sufficiently knowledgeable about government documents. Some aspects of reference service, such as use of multiple sources and collaboration among staff, received positive comments. Proxies also made a number of salient recommendations for improving government documents reference service in Canada. If depository libraries are to survive as vital links in the transmission of government information to the public, the knowledge level and service ethic of staff needs significant improvement.     

Is This Search Necessary?

Reference service as practiced in most large libraries meets the criteria for information and referral services as set forth by the Community and Information Referral Task Force of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. Because most reference service these days also includes some form of online data base searching, user expectations at the reference desk are heightened and in some cases unrealistic or unreasonable. Librarians must be able to make the decision to utilize print resources, conduct online data base searches, or refer users to more appropriate sources to satis their information needs. On-line data bases, In particular, are not always the first resource to consider.     

Management of Journal Errata in a Health Sciences Library

A management decision to discontinue manually correcting errata in medical journals is based on a five-month study and is justified in terms of the cost of identifying and correcting errata, the haphazard way such errors are reported, and the fact that online errors are not corrected. Additional questions raised by the study address emerging problems with online Full text databases, and with whom the responsibility for correcting errors in the medical literature should rest. Concern is expressed over the sense of responsibility librarians may feel as they provide reference referral to sources of information which may contain uncorrected information.     

Integrating the imposed query into the evaluation of reference service: A dichotomous analysis of user ratings

A secondary analysis of a user survey administered in 13 public libraries examined user ratings of reference services by transaction type. Transaction type is defined dichotomously as self-generated (users transacting questions they have determined for themselves) or imposed (agent users in the library seeking information on behalf of someone else). Users with self-generated questions rated library services lower than did users with imposed questions. Both groups rated the library experience lower than their reference desk experience, and imposed queries were responsible for proportionately higher “first time” use of the reference desk. No significant difference existed between groups for ratings of finding useful information in the library, finding everything wanted in the library visit, frequency of library use, or levels of attained formal education. There were significant differences found for ratings of the reference librarian's service behaviors, user satisfaction with reference service, and frequency of reference desk use.     

Management of journal errata in a health sciences library.

A management decision to discontinue manually correcting errata in medical journals is based on a five-month study and is justified in terms of the cost of identifying and correcting errata, the haphazard way such errors are reported, and the fact that online errors are not corrected. Additional questions raised by the study address emerging problems with online Full text databases, and with whom the responsibility for correcting errors in the medical literature should rest. Concern is expressed over the sense of responsibility librarians may feel as they provide reference referral to sources of information which may contain uncorrected information.     

Evaluation of Corporate Reference Collections

Results of several research studies indicate that corporate reference collections may differ in kind and in definition from reference collections of other types of libraries. It was found that a corporate reference collection may not embody a "core"; it might not imply ownership of items; it might rely heavily on referral sources; and it might be redefined functionally as a wlndow or gate to rentable information. The corporate librarian may make little distinction between a reference book and any other item in the library collection. Further, evaluation of such a corporate reference collection entails the evaluation of other parts of the library. This includes the ability of librarians to use any source to answer reference questions or provide information for the decision makers in the corporation; such a mode implies that the presence of a reference collection may be counterproductive to the provision of information services. Methods of evaluation were also considered as indicators of performance distinct from output measures.     

从专业教育视野看参考咨询与信息服务过程模型

二十多年来,参考咨询与信息服务日益介入电子世界,而逐渐远离图书馆的参考咨询台和纸质馆藏.本文介绍一项基于不断变化的环境针对参考咨询与信息服务进行的研究,旨在分析两个研究问题:①从用户和馆员行为及其所利用信息源的角度来看,当前参考咨询与信息服务活动有哪些趋势?②当前参考咨询过程的基本模型是什么?作者通过焦点访谈法搜集承担参考咨询与信息服务专业课程教师的意见,并通过自由讨论的形式征集其他专业课程教师和博士研究生有关虚拟参考咨询教育的看法.研究结果表明,参考咨询模型具有明显的互动性和合作性,其中参考馆员和用户均扮演信息获取、信息接收和信息生成的角色.论文提出参考咨询过程的模型,并分析这一模型对参考咨询与信息服务活动产生的影响.图1.参考文献63.     

How Do I Get a Campus ID? The Other Role of the Academic Library in Student Retention and Success

Academic libraries have long gathered data at the reference desk to facilitate informed development of services and collections, and have long known that regardless of whether questions are related to doing research, the library is a safe place a student may go to find answers. This article highlights the role of the library and information commons service desks as valuable windows into the student experience. The authors suggest that librarians share with campus stakeholders information about students’ non-research-related questions to aid in the development of programs and services designed to help students adjust to campus life and, ultimately, succeed.     

基于提问内容分析的数字参考咨询需求研究

用户参考咨询提问是其信息需求和服务期望的直接映射,并已成为国外图书馆界常规分析对象.本文以用户参考咨询提问为直接分析对象,采取内容分析法,以提问词、学科主题、需求形式、提问原因、回复情况等为分析单元,对提问数据展开语法、语义和语用三层次分析.发现数字参考咨询提问以职业领域内主题为主,并开始呈现出寻求知识服务的特征,但各类提问的回答效率有明显落差.从而证明假设:用户提问所映射的服务期望与公共图书馆数字化参考咨询服务努力基本一致,但其具体内容需求和形式需求结构呈现一定特征.论文最后提出了三点推论.     

Government Periodicals and the Reference Librarian:

Government publications in serial form provide timely, authoritative information on a range of subjects but reference librarians are not always aware of what is available in these sources. In libraries with separate documents departments, reference staffs may abrogate all responsibility for government publications, relying upon commercial sources to fill information needs more appropriately met with government periodicals. Documents librarians and reference librarians can facilitate the incorporation of govemment information in serial form into the general reference process. Benefits will include improved service to library patrons and an expanded user base to support the continued publication and distribution of government periodicals.     

爱思唯尔——MD consult临床医学的综合图书馆

随着网络的普及与信息技术的发展,利用互联网获取信息已成为人们重要的信息渠道。外文医学期刊是医学工作者的重要信息源,目前电子版及网络版期刊发展迅速,一些网络期刊建立了自己的网站;大型出版商、信息服务机构、数据库生产商等组织了一定数量的电子期刊集中上网,形成了有自己特点的数据库或综合电子图书馆,本文系统介绍MD—consult数据库所包含的十大项目,以其内容丰富、数据权威、快捷方便的检索功能和实用性等特点,为临床专家、医师、药剂师、护士、医学图书馆及其医学院校的学生和病患等人员提供全方位的信息服务。     

Biotechnology awareness study, Part 2: Meeting the information needs of biotechnologists

The second part of the biotechnology awareness study focused on health sciences libraries and how well they are meeting the needs of biotechnologists working in the study's nine medical centers. A survey was conducted over a three-month period to assess the demand for biotechnology-related reference services at nine libraries and the sources the librarians used to answer the questions. Data on monographic and current serial holdings were also collected. At the end of the survey period, librarians were asked for their perceptions about biotechnology research at their institutions and in their geographic areas. Their responses were compared to the responses the scientists at the nine schools gave to the same or similar questions. Results showed few biotechnology-related reference questions were asked of the librarians. The recorded questions dealt with a range of biotechnology subjects. MEDLINE was used to answer 77% of the questions received during the survey period. More detailed notes in MeSH and a guide to online searching for biotechnology topics were suggested by the librarians as ways to improve reference service to this group of researchers. Journal collections were generally strong, with libraries owning from 50% to 87% of the titles on a core list of biotechnology journals compiled for this study. All libraries subscribed to the five titles most often cited by the scientists surveyed. Generally, librarians were unaware of the biotechnology-related research being done on their campuses or in their geographic areas.     

Responding to reference queries for numeric data and the problems inherent in interpreting statistical sources: A note

Statistical reference questions are among the most problematic a government information specialist faces. Answering such queries is a subjective process and librarians must be sensitive to the context of both the query and the data. The first issue is to recognize the potential lack of consistency in definition or methods among agencies or governments. This paper provides a few illustrative examples that reinforce this point and demonstrates how a general knowledge of statistical measures can lead to better informed reference service.     

Motivations and uses: Evaluating virtual reference service from the users' perspective

The questions of whether chat reference service is beneficial enough to users to justify the costs of offering it, and how valuable it is to users in fulfilling their information needs, have been primary concerns for librarians providing the service, for library administrators managing the service, and for funding agencies paying for it. The present study combines a traditional evaluation of the user's satisfaction with the reference encounter, with details of the user's information use and the user's motivation for using the chat reference service. This evaluation study assesses the effectiveness of chat reference service in meeting users' information needs.