Reference Reborn : Breathing New Life into Public Services Librarianship

The roles of reference and public librarians are constantly changing. Today, it's not unusual for librarians to also serve as trend trackers, data analysts, project managers, IT troubleshooters, marketers, and staffing specialists. Academic and public libraries across the country are experimenting with new service models to accommodate new technology, budget constraints, and a clientele with new needs and expectations. Not surprisingly, librarians are assuming revised roles as a result.Reference Reborn: Breathing New Life into Public Services Librarianship is a collection of over two dozen essays on developments and trends in reference and public services librarianship, highlighting some of the best thinking on reference services, outreach initiatives, the migration from print to e-reference collections, staffing 21st century libraries, library school curriculum, and more. This text will appeal to library and information science students and educators, beginning and seasoned reference librarians, and managers of public service departments in academic and public libraries. The education and training of reference librarians receives special attention.

Diane Zabel is Louis and Virginia Benzak Business Librarian at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. Her published works include The Quality Management Sourcebook: An International Guide to Materials and Resources. Zabel has served as president of the Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, and is editor of Reference User Services Quarterly.