University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

"The Teaching of Reference Must Keep Pace": Teaching Sources and Searching in an Evolving Reference Environment

Melissa A., Wong

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121624

Description

Title
"The Teaching of Reference Must Keep Pace": Teaching Sources and Searching in an Evolving Reference Environment
Author(s)
Melissa A., Wong
Issue Date
2023
Keyword(s)
  • Linda C. Smith
  • Festschrift
  • reference
Date of Ingest
2023-12-20T03:51:29-06:00
Abstract
Since the advent of the web, libraries have seen a steady decline in the number of questions being asked at the reference desk, especially for ready reference questions requiring brief, factual answers. Reference work has moved away from ready reference questions to emphasize in-depth research consultations, information literacy instruction, and curating online collections and patron guides. As library and information science education evolves to keep pace with the changes in reference work, traditional "sources" assignments in which students seek answers to factual questions do not adequately reflect the work of contemporary reference librarians. At the same time, knowledge of reference sources and search skills are still valued by practitioners. LIS instructors teaching reference courses must develop new learning activities and assignments to help students develop the source evaluation, selection, and search skills needed for contemporary reference work.
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press and the Illinois School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Series/Report Name or Number
Library Trends 71 (1). August 2022
ISSN
0024-2594
Type of Resource
text
Genre of Resource
article
Language
eng
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2023.0003
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2023 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Owning Collections

Library Trends 71 (1) August 2022: Library and Information Science, Interdisciplinary Perspectives: A Festschrift in Honor of Linda C. Smith [Restricted Access] PRIMARY
Library Trends 71 (1) August 2022: Library and Information Science, Interdisciplinary Perspectives: A Festschrift in Honor of Linda C. Smith. Edited by Anita S. Coleman and Martha Kyrillidou.