Book Reviews. Using the Internet as a Reference Tool: A How-to-do-it Manual for Librarians

Citation

Cullen, R. (2002), "Book Reviews. Using the Internet as a Reference Tool: A How-to-do-it Manual for Librarians", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 19 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.2002.23919fae.003

Book Reviews. Using the Internet as a Reference Tool: A How-to-do-it Manual for Librarians

Professional literature

Book Reviews

Using the Internet as a Reference Tool: A How-to-do-it Manual for Librarians

Michael P. SauersLibrary Association PublishingLondon2001142 pp.ISBN: 1856044327£24.95 (softback)

The value of this book is that it assumes that the reader knows very little about the Internet, and its innumerable and varied resources. That being so it starts with very basic information about how to tell a very bad site from a good site, what questions not to try to answer on the Internet, the difference between search engines and directories, and how to develop an effective strategy for searching the Internet for answers to reference questions. It is written for reference librarians with some experience, despite the fact that it assumes very little expertise in using the Internet, and calls on their existing knowledge of how to evaluate reference tools, and develop a search strategy. There are helpful comparisons between the steps one would take to find answers in both print and Internet resources, and many sites that are particularly useful for reference work are listed.

A key principle of the volume is that successful reference work using the Internet uses the same strategies as traditional reference work, i.e. rather than trying to "search" the Internet for the answer to a question, a likely source should first be selected, or if necessary identified using a search engine or directory, and then the answer to the question sought within that source, very much in the same way that the answer to a reference query will most likely be found in the appropriate print source. Well-chosen examples demonstrate the logic of this approach and successful outcomes for some typical reference questions.

A final chapter addresses the question of e-mail and Web-based reference work. The data supplied is a little out-of-date and there are better discussions of this topic in the reference journal literature.

Altogether this is a useful manual, that makes some very important points about using the Internet for reference work that should be taken on board by reference librarians and users alike. Its usefulness is a little marred for this reviewer by the rather arch tone that perhaps comes from the fact that much of the content is taken from the author's obviously popular and useful workshops on the subject, and the fact that many of the Web sites recommended as useful reference sources are not authenticated, despite the author's recommendations in Chapter 2 about evaluating Web sites. Some reference librarians will find this the best book they have ever read on the Internet as an information source, others will find it rather simplistic and patronising, but I would hazard a guess that if they buy it for their junior staff, they will occasionally take a quick peek either to sharpen their skills, or to solve a tricky question.

Rowena Cullen Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.