Fundamentals of Reference

Citation

Reynolds, S. (2013), "Fundamentals of Reference", Library Management, Vol. 34 No. 3, pp. 262-264. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435121311310978

The title of this book indicates its intent to present the essential aspects of library reference service, and this is exactly what it does – nothing less and nothing more. The author is a very experienced reference librarian (over 30 years of practice) in the USA and her experience is embedded in what she has to say. Mulac has produced a compact, clear overview of reference work in two parts, i.e. Reference Sources and Reference Services, the latter including evaluation of the services. Supplementary material provides a list of relevant American Library Association documents, a bibliography and a list of the reference sources discussed in Part 1.

Although the intended audience is given as being primarily library staff working in or managing a reference department, with a suggestion that it might also be of relevance to library and information science students, in truth it is the latter group that would probably benefit from the book the most. The content is so basic that any library staff member with a qualification in library science would probably not find anything new to add to the knowledge that should have been acquired as part of their LIS education. The book could, however, act as a refresher for those who have not been involved with reference service for some time. It would serve those within this latter parameter well.

Part one, Reference Sources, is limited for any wider audience beyond the USA since the majority of the specific resources referred to relate to reference enquiries within an American context. However, the types of reference resources included, chapter by chapter, serve to remind readers of the standard categories of reference sources available for consultation and the specific texts mentioned may be useful to individuals seeking to build a “toolbox” of sources to turn to. These texts include the author's own stated favourites, and while they can therefore be considered as trusted sources of information it does mean that other resources may have been overlooked.

The author inserts her own experience into the text frequently. This is an advantage in that the reader can be confident that the practices and texts described are based on real‐life scenarios. However, it also introduces a bias towards what the author preferences in terms of both resources and practice, with the risk of other, or different, practices and reference sources not being given due attention,

The book is a paperback and nicely presented with plenty of white space to facilitate easy reading. Many of the chapters are very short and in some cases extending and developing the information would enhance the authority of the information provided. This is the case, for example, with the chapter dealing with “The Reference Interview”, where less than four pages are devoted to what would be generally accepted as, and as the author herself states, “the most important work a reference librarian does”. Text boxes inserted in each chapter (generally one or two per chapter) provide pertinent tips or further reading. They add interest for readers and may well be useful but again use may be limited for those outside the USA by a predominating American perspective. In addition, many of the references mentioned are now very old – including back to the 1980s – and while they may still be relevant, some updating would improve the currency, and thus authority, of the information contained within the cited articles.

In summary, this would also be an excellent text book for library and information science students, and teaching staff, at any level – undergraduate, postgraduate or paraprofessional – and serve as a refresher for library staff who have not been involved with reference work for a period of time. It is a good, basic reference source for those interested in reference work.