Reference and Information Services

Kay Ann Cassell received her BA from Carnegie Mellon University, her MLS from Rutgers University, and her PhD from the International University for Graduate Studies. She has worked in academic libraries and public libraries as a reference librarian and as a library director. Ms. Cassell is a past president of Reference and User Services Association of ALA and is active on ALA and RUSA committees. She is the editor of the journal Collection Building and is the author of numerous articles and books on collection development and reference service. She was formerly the Associate Director of Collections and Services for the Branch Libraries of the New York Public Library where she was in charge of collection development and age-level services for the Branch Libraries. She is now a Lecturer and Director of the MLIS Program in the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Uma Hiremath is Executive Director at the Ames Free Library, Massachusetts. She was Assistant Director at the Thayer Public Library, Massachusetts; Head of Reference at the West Orange Public Library, New Jersey; and Supervising Librarian at the New York Public Library where she worked for five years. She received her MLS from Pratt Institute, New York, and her PhD in political science at the University of Pittsburgh.

PART 1: FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS 1. Introduction to Reference and Information Services 2. Determining the Question: In-Person, Telephone, and Virtual Reference Interviews 3. Finding the Answer: Basic Search Techniques. PART 2: INTRODUCTION TO MAJOR REFERENCE SOURCES 4. Answering Questions about Books, Magazines, Newspapers, Libraries and Publishing, and Bibliographic Networks: Bibliographic Resources 5. Answering Questions about Anything and Everything: Encyclopedias 6. Answering Questions That Require Handy Facts: Ready Reference Sources 7. Answering Questions about Words: Dictionaries, Concordances, and Manuals 8. Answering Questions about Events and Issues, Past and Present: Databases (and Indexes) 9. Answering Questions about Health, Law, and Business: Special Guidelines and Sources 10. Answering Questions about Geography, Countries, and Travel: Atlases, Gazetteers, Maps, Geographic Information Systems, and Travel Guides 11. Answering Questions about the Lives of People: Biographical Information Sources 12. Answering Questions about Government and Related Issues: Government Information Sources PART 3: SPECIAL TOPICS IN REFERENCE AND INFORMATION WORK 13. When and How to Use the Internet as a Reference Tool 14. Readers' Advisory Services - Cindy Orr 15. Reference Sources and Services for Children and Young Adults - Meghan Harper 16. Information Literacy in the Reference Department PART 4: DEVELOPING AND MANAGING REFERENCE COLLECTIONS AND SERVICES 17. Selecting and Evaluating Reference Materials 18. Ethics in Reference - Angela Ecklund 19. Managing Reference Departments 20. Assessing and Improving Reference Services 21. Reference 2.0 22. The Future of Information Service.