New Technologies and Reference Services

Back in the “good old days”, a reference librarian’s job was pretty straightforward. He/she had to master the odd interpersonal skill or two for interacting with the public, and needed a good knowledge of what reference sources were available and in which sources to look in order to find out answers. However, these days are now gone. True, we still need interpersonal skills and knowledge of print based sources, but nowadays, added to this, and in many cases replacing some of the old sources, is the presence of new technology. This first reared its head with computerised catalogues, to be followed by CD‐ROM based resources and now these are being replaced by Web‐based technology.

So, how do we cope with these changes? How can we adapt ourselves and our departments in order to deal with this new technology and new type of customer? New Technologies and Reference Services aims to recount how reference libraries have reacted to these changes over the years. It concentrates on a general overall view of how to use technology to help people find answers, and how to acquaint users with what the library can offer them via this new approach to information.

New Technologies and Reference Services has been co‐published as The Reference Librarian, Volume 34 Number 71. The book is a selection of articles and essays by American library practitioners. The volume has four sections: Welcome to the Millennium, Working at Reference, Selection for Users, and Service for Whom? There are some useful articles here. For example, Lou Ann Stewart writes “Choosing between print and electronic resources: the selection dilemma”. Now we have all come across that one. Jody Condit Fagan provides an article called “Guidelines for creating a self‐directed training program for the new reference librarian”. This would have been quite useful to me when I first started work in a reference library. I was plunged in at the deep end and this article aims to help you cope with bewildering situations like this. There is also a useful article on how to teach your users the new IT skills they will need, using interactive classrooms and drop‐in classes for example.

New Technologies and Reference Services discusses other implications of new technology such as the effects of CD‐ROM, electronic publishing, and the Internet on copyright issues; videoconferencing at the reference desk; and decentralising library reference services. The whole book gives practical advice and ideas on the broader issues of information technology and how it affects us. The volume begins with a brief introduction by the editor. This is followed by the four main sections, each of which has several different articles. The book also has a brief index. There are nine articles altogether. One or two of these, however, seem a little out of place in a book with this title. Why have articles on trends in publishing or religious studies on the Internet for example? That said, the articles which I feel are relevant to a book like this are interesting and stimulating. If you are interested in the subject, give it a look, it is still an interesting read despite its American bias.