Search results

Examines the use of Choice, a selection tool for academic libraries, at the Gelman Library at George Washington University, Washington DC. Describes a survey into the value of Choice, the methods used and the results obtained. Looks into issues such as publisher group, acquisition of series titles and the frequency with which individual publishers were cited. Concludes that despite its limitations Choice is the best source an academic library can use in maintaining the acquisition program.

The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with orientation to library facilities and services, instruction in the use of information resources, and research and computer skills related to retrieving, using, and evaluating information. This review, the fifteenth to be published in Reference Services Review, includes items in English published in 1988. A few are not annotated because the compiler could not obtain copies of them for this review.

Over the past twenty years, bibliographic instruction has evolved from teaching students the mechanics of locating research materials to a process‐oriented approach that emphasizes analyzing research needs, framing a research question, and evaluating the search results. In the last decade alone, academic librarians have extended bibliographic instruction to cover online catalogs, CD‐ROMs, and database searching, in addition to teaching print resources and the card catalog. We are still defining a paradigm for teaching end‐users. Some of the assumptions associated with the teaching of print resources, for example, can be applied to the teaching of information technologies, while others cannot. Our efforts are further complicated by the rapid development of new types of technologies, by vendor refusals to adopt a standard command language or user interface, and by our patrons' varying responses to both computers in general and electronic research sources in particular.

CD‐ROMs proliferate in libraries and replace paper copy. Much has been written on the capabilities of the new technology, little on the actual content offered by CD‐ROMs or on content comparison between that offered by paper and the new form. Reviews the MLA International Bibliography on CD‐ROM and compares its contents with alternative print sources. Considers coverage for selected authors and the conclusion reached that the MLA International CD‐ROM database is not comprehensive and may omit information which is available elsewhere, for instance in print paper form.

This paper is the second half of an invited paper given by the author to the international conference, promoted by the UNESCO Philosophy Forum, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the organisation (Paris, 14–17 March 1995). The first half, which deals with a slightly different theme, is published as an Article earlier in this issue.

The following annotated bibliography of materials on orienting users to libraries and on instructing them in the use of reference and other resources covers publications from 1981. A few items from 1980 have been included because information about them was not available in time for the 1980 listing. A few items have not been annotated because the compiler was unable to secure copies of these items.

The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with orientation to library facilities and services, instruction in the use of information resources, and research and computer skills that are related to retrieving and using information. This is the fourteenth review to be published in Reference Services Review and lists items in English published in 1987. A few items are not annotated because the compiler could not obtain copies of them for this review.

The following annotated bibliography of materials on orienting users to the library and on instructing them in the use of reference and other resources covers publications from 1979. A few items from 1978 were included because information about them had not been available in time for the 1978 listing. Some entries were not annotated because the compiler was unable to secure a copy of the item. The bibliography includes publications on user instruction in all types of libraries and for all types of users from children to adults. To facilitate the use of the list, it has been divided into categories by type of library. Even though the library literature includes many citations to items on user instruction in foreign countries, this bibliography includes only publications in the English language.

The wide adoption of web-scale discovery tools calls into question the usefulness and viability of traditional subject indexes. This study examines this question of usefulness in the context of the discipline of literary studies. To what extent can researchers rely on the primary database devoted to language and literature study to discover relevant scholarship, and how does the database's performance compare to other common search tools?

The study uses a random sample of citations from articles published in the flagship journal, PMLA, to see how well the sources cited by literature scholars are covered in various search tools, including the MLA International Bibliography.

Of the search tools investigated, Google Scholar found the largest number of citations, even when limiting to literary scholarship. However, the eclecticism of citations suggests that scholars benefit from using a variety of search tools and methods.

Although other studies have looked at discoverability in certain subject areas, this one focuses on literary studies. An understanding of the relative coverage of different search tools can inform librarian practices and recommendations.