Reference and Information Services: An Introduction, 6th Edition, Paperback

Reference and Information Services is the go-to textbook for MSLIS and i-School courses on reference services and related topics. It is also a helpful handbook for practitioners. Authors include LIS faculty and professionals who have relevant degrees in their areas and who have published extensively on their topics.

The first half of the book provides an overview of reference services and techniques for service provision, including the reference interview, ethics, instruction, reader's advisory, and services to diverse populations including children. This part of the book establishes a foundation of knowledge on reference service and frames each topic with ethical and social justice perspectives.

The second part of the book offers an overview of the information life cycle and dissemination of information, followed by an in-depth examination of information sources by type--including dictionaries, encyclopedias, indexes, and abstracts--as well as by broad subject areas including government, statistics and data, health, and legal information. This second section introduces the tools and resources that reference professionals use to provide the services described in the first half of the text.

About author(s):

Melissa A. Wong has been an online instructor for the University of Illinois since 2001, teaching courses in reference, instruction, management, and academic librarianship.

Laura Saunders is associate professor at Simmons University School of Library and Information Science, teaching in the areas of reference, instruction, and academic libraries.