There is a queue, the phone is ringing, the photocopier has jammed and your enquirer is waiting for a response. You are stressed and you can feel the panic rising. Where do you go to find the information you need to answer the question promptly and accurately? Answering queries from users is one of the most important services undertaken by library and information staff. Yet it is also one of the most difficult, least understood subjects. There are still very few materials available to help frontline staff - often paraprofessional - develop their reader enquiry skills. This award-winning sourcebook is an essential guide to where to look to find the answers quickly. It is designed as a first point of reference for library and information practitioners, to be depended upon if they are unfamiliar with the subject of an enquiry - or wish to find out more. It is arranged in an easily searchable, fully cross-referenced A-Z list of around 150 of the subject areas most frequently handled at enquiry desks.
Each subject entry lists the most important information sources and where to locate them, including printed and electronic sources, relevant websites and useful contacts for referral purposes. The authors use their extensive experience in reference work to offer useful tips, warn of potential pitfalls, and spotlight typical queries and how to tackle them. This new edition has been brought right up-to-date with all sources checked for currency and many new ones added. The searchability has been further enhanced with the addition of a comprehensive index to make those essential sources even easier to find - saving you valuable minutes! Offering quick and easy pointers to a multitude of information sources, this is an invaluable reference deskbook for all library and information staff in need of a speedy answer, in reference libraries, subject departments and other information units.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
'A highly valuable tool at the reference desk in most libraries.' Journal of Documentation 'This book will come to the aid of every hard-pressed librarian who needs a concise, easy to use source guide for "information in a hurry".' Electronic Library 'This is a highly practical volume drawing on the many years of experience of the compilers. It is an excellent tool to have to hand to assist with answering general reference enquires.' Reference Reviews About the first edition: 'I wish that I had been able to obtain such a guide when I started dealing with enquiries.' Managing Information 'By the time I got to it 3 staff had noticed it on the desk and written a note saying really good and can we have a copy.' BBOB News 'This is certainly a comforting and very useful guide for the information worker, particularly inexperienced or unqualified, staffing a general enquiry desk.' New Library World
Auflage
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Editions-Typ
Maße
Höhe: 240 mm
Breite: 160 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-85604-534-6 (9781856045346)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Bob Duckett MA FCLIP was until his recent retirement Reference Librarian at Bradford Libraries, and is a member of the editorial board of Reference Reviews. He previously worked for Birmingham City Libraries, Croydon Borough Libraries and University of Wales Libraries. Peter Walker BSc DipLIS MCLIP is a Librarian at Bradford Central Libraries, where he has special responsibility for developing electronic information sources. He previously worked in HMSO Bookshops. Christinea Donnelly BA(Hons) MLib is a Librarian within Information Services at Bradford Central Library. She has worked in a number of government departments, public libraries and in a City merchant bank.
