Reimagining Reference in the 21st Century

Reference service, the idea that librarians provide direct assistance to users, has been a central function of libraries for over a century. Today’s libraries are even more complex and intimidating to new users than libraries of the past, and the technical and social contexts in which users experience their library’s resources add to this complexity. The availability of a friendly librarian who helps users find materials, search for information on a topic, interpret citations, identify quality information, and format bibliographies has become a standard component of what libraries do. However, changes in technologies, economics, and user populations are causing many libraries to question the need and function of traditional reference services. This book examines how library services meet user needs in the twenty-first century. Through contributions from the leading scholars and practitioners in the field, this volume addresses such issues and how they affect practices in public and academic libraries.

David A. Tyckoson is associate dean of the Henry Madden Library at California State University, Fresno, where he is in charge of all user services. He regularly teaches online courses on reference and has published widely on various aspects of libraries and reference services. Tyckoson served as president of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) in 2007 and 2008, and he received the Mudge Award for distinguished contributions to reference librarianship in 2005. John G. Dove is best known for his various roles at Credo Reference, including CEO, president, and senior publisher. He has extensive experience in technology businesses, including electronic publishing and online education, extending back to 1968 when he joined a start-up on Wall Street that produced the first end-user accessible online database of stock market information. His other positions have included president and COO of SilverPlatter, a supplier of electronic and online bibliographic information to research libraries worldwide.