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Chapter 3 Finding the Answer
Updates
- Owen, Tim Buckley. April
2006. Success at the Enquiry Desk.
A
fifth edition of Tim Buckley Owen’s useful and entertaining classic on the
process of answering questions had been released. The latest ‘fully revised’
edition has a new chapter and includes an assessment of emerging technology
relevant to the reference process, such as wikis and blogs.
- The website for the
Eurodesk is now accessible at:
http://www.eurodesk.org:8080/Supportcentre.do?go=6
- The “standard search
pattern” template developed by the National Health Service is further
embedded and can be directly accessed at:
www.ukmi.nhs.uk/Policy_product/CGSearchPat.asp
Further Reading
- Davis, Kaetrena D. 2006.
“Mind the Retail Reference Gap”. Library Journal (May 15): 66.
This is an honest essay on the dangers of “retail reference”, or superficial
reference processes that fail to conduct a useful reference interview or set
evaluative parameters on available information. It is useful in provoking
further discussion on the utility levels of answers as discussed in p.37 of
the book.
- Pollack, Miriam. 2005.
“Class Dismissed”. Library Journal netConnect (Fall): 4.
New technology that enhances collaborative reference can be found in a handy
list of the “New E-Learning Tools” provided in this article. Blogs, web
logs, Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS), text chats, Real Simple
Syndication (RSS), wikis, and webinars are some of the tools listed and
defined.
- Zabel, Diane. 2006. “Is
Everything Old New Again? Part One” Reference & User Services Quarterly
Volume 45, No.3 (Spring): 184-189.
This is a thoughtful retrospective of reference librarianship by the
2005-2006 President of the Reference & User Services Association. The
section on “The Reference Process” (187-188) is particularly relevant as it
provides an overview of previous ideas and theories on the reference
process.
Trends
In
a report both commissioned and publicized by the Library of Congress, it was
suggested that the Library of Congress Subject Headings or LCSH (described
on p.42-43 of the book), are becoming less necessary in an emerging research
world where “we think of Google as the catalog”. (Library Journal,
2006).
The debate between the use of free-text searching as epitomized by
information searches online, and the use of controlled vocabulary as
traditionally espoused in both print and online research, appears to have
sharpened following the LC report.
See:
2006. “LC Report Assesses Future of Library
Catalogs”. Library Hotline (April 24): 5-6.
2006. “The End of LC Subject Headings?”
Library Journal (May 15): 14.
Chan, Lois Mai and Theodora Hodges. 2000.
“Entering the Millennium: A New Century for LCSH”. Cataloging &
Classification Quarterly Volume 29, Issue 1 (August 2): 225 – 234. |
