The Digital Reference Collection in Academic Libraries (original) (raw)
Related papers
Digital reference services, ed. by Bill Katz
South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, 2013
This book outlines the emerging field of digital referencing, introducing new issues brought on by the Internet and the role of the professional librarian. It examines the implementation of digital reference services, particularly in academic libraries, focusing on what digital referencing is, and how these services work. Part One focuses on the basic principles, opinions and discussions of digital reference services, giving the reader a broad overview of the service, including principles and aids. Part Two examines the uses of digital referencing, based on numerous case studies in a variety of library settings, including public and academic libraries, as well as discussions on the marketing and evaluation of these digital reference services. The editor reports that digital reference services are now a standard part of reference work in most libraries. In earlier years, digital reference primarily made use of email to receive
E-Reference: Incorporating Electronic Publications Into Reference
Library Hi Tech, 1999
The traditional work of reference librarians has been greatly impacted by access to electronic publications on the World Wide Web. Reference librarians are also using the Web to create electronic publications for in-library users and Web surfers. By creating HTML documents that provide access to Web and other electronic resources, reference service is extended beyond the physical library and designated reference desk hours, opening the building for 24-hour access.
Digital libraries: barriers or gateways to scholarly information?
The Electronic Library, 2003
Unprecedented desktop access to scholarly information has been made possible by the introduction of digital libraries. The powerful combination of digital publications, specialist and generalist databases, sophisticated search systems and portals enables scholars and students to rapidly examine a great variety of the literature in their own disciplines and those new to them. Access is available globally 24 hours a day without geographical limitation. * Biographical note: Alex Byrne chairs the Committee on Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE -http://www.faife.dk) and is a member of the Governing Board of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA -http://www.ifla.org). He is the University Librarian and a Deputy Chair of the Academic Board at the University of Technology, Sydney in Australia where he can be contacted on Tel +61 2 9514 3332, Fax +61 2 9514 3331, alex.byrne@uts.edu.au. Digital libraries: barriers or gateways to scholarly information? -ALEX BYRNE -15/10/2003
Electronic-Databases have become an established component of many academic libraries " collection. Libraries all over the world are finding vital information through online information retrieval services with access to thousands of databases containing bibliographic, citations and full text primary resources. These databases are used for various activities of handling of information, such as resources sharing, reference services, abstracting and indexing services, easy retrieval of information. The paper outlined in details about the concept of e-databases with special reference to academic and online databases. Electronic databases provide a good overview of what is available on any particular topic. Before user had to depend on books, printed journals, pamphlets, or newspapers. Now they have more information at their fingertips all in one spot. The paper discussed about the categories of academic databases which were subscribed by the today " s libraries and further discussed the different parameters on basis of which libraries can incorporate these scholarly databases into their library " s holdings. The purpose of study was to explore library and information science (LIS) professional " s experience related to the use of electronic databases. 1.0 Introduction: The use of electronic resources, especially scholarly electronic databases, is now considered a norm in the academe. As electronic resources for scholarship proliferate, more and more scholars turn to their computers rather than to print sources to conduct their research. E-databases are widely available and can be accessed from anywhere and by many users at the same time. It is therefore convenient to use. These databases often contain journal articles, or references to such articles, e-books, reference sources, conference papers and reports among others. University libraries spend a large amounts of money on these resources to satisfy the teaching, learning and research needs of its faculty and students. As universities spend substantial amount of money on subscription of these databases, it is only appropriate and economical that these databases are optimally utilized to contribute to the academic achievement of students and faculty and also to get value for money [8]. But todays it is seen that costly scholarly databases often remain underused or ignored altogether by research scholars, faculties and also students who seem to prefer to do their academic assignments last minute and with the least amount of effort. As a result, academic libraries, who invest large portions of their acquisition budgets for database subscriptions, and librarians who provide information literacy training, are more or less dissatisfied with the students " choices of information resources and in particular with the level of their use of electronic scholarly databases. Libraries all over the world are finding vital information through online information retrieval services with access to thousands of databases containing both bibliography and primary sources information. The increasing availability of digital information sources, emergence of web based digital libraries and desktop based search
Scholarly digital editions: an (un)known land
2020
The new book by Tiziana Mancinelli and Elena Pierazzo is an introduction to the ecdotic practices developed in the digital environment. The concept of "scholarly digital edition" is investigated and the reader is provided with a series of tools to understand its limits and potential, also in relation to future developments and the adoption of shared standards.
Future role of (electronic) national bibliographies
Increasingly, the national bibliographies are available in the Internet and deal with the Internet (Web) content. This paper analyses the impact these changes have, or should have, on the roles of national bibliography databases. As regards the Internet access, support for Z39.50 is seen as essential in order to enable copy cataloguing. Cataloguing of Web resources is analysed from the point of view of traditional library systems, information retrieval portals and digital object management systems.
Digital reference services: an overview
Information Impact: Journal of Information and Knowledge Management, 2017
Technological development in the world has brought many changes to libraries and their service deliveries. Many Libraries are trying to improve on their services by moving from face to face interaction to a digital environment. In this era of information explosion, many people rely on the internet for information and less people approach the Reference desks for assistance, hence the need for Reference librarians to take initiatives on how to bridge the gap. New technologies give reference services the opportunity to conduct reference transactions over the web and answer reference questions simultaneously with the support of the telephone and other tools. It highlights the characteristics of digital reference and the benefits to patrons. The skills needed by Reference Librarians to perform to their best were also discussed. The different stages involved in building and maintaining a good digital reference were also highlighted. The need for specialized training for Librarians and collaborative services were proposed to ensure high quality service. The need to train students and create more awareness for the service is also mentioned.
The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 2004
N oted reference scholar Bill Katz has gathered together twenty-one articles to discuss digital reference services in U.S. libraries today. Katz's introduction sets the scene by providing an overview of digital reference, including pros and cons, a short discussion of evaluation, and a comparison with commercial services such as Ask Jeeves or Google Answers. Part one covers issues in digital reference and is divided into sections: points of view, operation principles and aids, and chat services. Part two includes academic and public library case studies. Of particular interest are the essays that make up the points of view section. Diane Kresh reviews some of the ups and downs of digital reference and offers ten lessons learned by the Library of Congress, concluding with a reminder of the value of digital reference in reclaiming the future of libraries and the need to b.. . be brave, be bold, be thoughtful and if you build it they will come.Q (p. 32). R. David Lankes makes his case for recognizing that synchronous and asynchronous forms of digital reference should be offered through the same software since the only difference between the two services is lag time length. Jonathan Lauer and Steve McKinzie provide a skeptical view of virtual reference, suggesting that librarians overvalue technology, the positive effects of digital reference are overstated, and that digital reference encourages what the authors refer to as bplanned dispensabilityQ; that is, the end of librarianship as users believe they no longer need the services of librarians because they have been trained to know how to find what they need. Part two's case studies emphasize academic libraries, with one public library case study provided (although Matthew Marsteller and Jackie Schmitt-Marsteller's introduction includes a nice section on opportunities for digital reference in public libraries). Only two case studies focus on collaborative digital reference although this is a growing trend as libraries recognize the financial and staffing benefits of consortial agreements. Libraries who have reached the point of considering a switch in their digital reference software vendor will be interested in that experience as chronicled by Polly Boruff-Jones. Digital reference is fast becoming an established library service, and there are many books out now that cover how to plan and implement it, including Meola and Stormont's Starting and Operating Live Virtual Reference Services: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians (Neal-Schuman, 2002) and Anne Lipow's The Virtual Reference Librarian's Handbook (Neal-Schuman, 2003). A little less emphasis on the bnuts and boltsQ that are increasingly well-covered in the library literature and a greater emphasis on more mature digital reference issues such as evaluation, standards, and information literacy would have been helpful in this collection. Although the first half is stronger than the bhow we did itQ second half, the collection is well worth reading and will no doubt provoke discussion and thoughtful consideration of how digital reference services are playing out. Recommended for libraries providing or considering digital reference services.
"A necessary nuisance"—The traditional bibliography in a digital age
[from] THE GRAND CANON: A Worldwide Bibliography of the Grand Canyon and Lower Colorado River Regions in the United States and Mexico: Volume 1: Introduction and Bibliography, 2022
The art of bibliography has been viewed, particularly in the later part of the 20th century and on to today, as an indulgence of those with special interests and for limited audiences, perhaps even a pastime of puzzling or suspect worth. Used by few, most publishers today see bibliographies as uneconomical. And indeed, why bother with jotting down the authors, titles, and publishers of things that may already be awaiting online? Why bother preparing a publication that will be out of date even before the printed pages are bound? It is a dramatic shift of opinion from a century earlier, when bibliographies were reference tools expected to be found—and used. Substantial tomes, some of them in multiple volumes, were issued by publishers worldwide; awaited for, purchased, cataloged, and worn out by librarians and researchers. I argue that specialized and truly comprehensive research perspectives can be gained, and administrative needs met, by using bibliographies that are, or claim to be, comprehensive. Students new to a field of work should see that a pertinent bibliography is a guide to previous research, opinion, criticism and commentary; a body of literature that expresses the development of themes that pertain to the subject; and a chronology of changing research focuses over time. The astute student may also seize from a bibliography ideas of things that are problematical and discern things that seem not to have been done or have not been adequately explored—prime focuses for theses, dissertations, and future professional research for them and for their students in turn.
(2018) 'From the Archive to the Web: Dilemmas with Digital Scholarly Editions.'
Student Librarians and Information Professionals Ireland Conference (SLIP Ireland 2018), Dublin City Library, 24 February 2018 “From the Archive to the Web: Dilemmas with Digital Scholarly Editions.” Two longstanding activities associated with humanities computing/digital humanities (DH) are digital archiving and digital scholarly editing. Both activities can be traced to the pre-Web era and gained prominence from the mid-1990s due to advances in digitisation technologies, combined with the development of the Web in the public domain. While they have characteristics in common such as the digitisation of texts/documents and the provision of access to the digital surrogates in an online environment, it is worth noting that they are not the same thing. Sahle defines scholarly editions as the “critical representation of historic documents” (23), with a digital scholarly edition (DSE) being a scholarly edition that is “guided by a digital paradigm in [its] theory, method and practice” (28). Characteristics of a DSE include the digitisation, transcription, and encoding of texts/documents for presentation in the HTML environment, with added contextualisation through hyperlink annotations and/or multimedia. While the tasks involved in producing a DSE seem relatively straightforward, nonetheless, DSE projects often run the risk of not being completed on time or within budget. For instance, problems arise from underestimating the length of time it will take to complete a task, a failure (at the start) to configure the parameters and constraints of the proposed web platform to be used, and a major dilemma is Scope Creep. Thus, the aim of this presentation is to provide some useful tips for early career information professionals on how to avoid some of the pitfalls in producing a quality DSE within time-frame and budget.