Electronic Reference

Electronic Resources for Reference Services : 

Electronic Resources for Reference Services End user revolution. Librarians are providing coaching and tactical advice rather than actually finding the information

Delivering Web-based Reference : 

Delivering Web-based Reference Protocols: formal agreements on the form and style of communication (TCP/IP) Stateful: “user’s computer and the server computer maintain an active connection. Stateless: Each search is separate. Cookies help build search history Client-server: client:face server:tasks Porting: modifying software to work on a different platform

Proliferating Sources : 

Proliferating Sources Anyone can be a publisher How do we make sense of the sheer volume of information and the quick and constant change? Dublin Core Metadata Element Set: An attempt by OCLC/NCSA to document the web and organize what is/has been on the web. (Online Computer LibraryCenter/ National Center for Super Computing Applications) Z39.50: provides a client-server electronic information system design “blueprint.” Each system can be different but still compatible with the other systems, allowing tailoring of systems to meet individual institutional needs.

Technological Ripples : 

Technological Ripples Each development/innovation causes a change in service which is accompanied by a learning curve and changes in staffing, access, policies, costs, (soft costs) and benefits. Institutional culture affects whether the technology is adopted early or late which also dictates different problem sets. Orphan technologies Relationship of new technologies with old Backward compatibility (cd’s/dvd’s) Succession (total change) (floppy/3.5) Electronic archiving/web archiving Institutional snapshots of website Danger of losing much of what has been on the web Problem of varying information in the same source offered in different formats.

Role of Reference Cybrarians : 

Role of Reference Cybrarians Continuous change to provide users the best human “interface” with the information available regardless of format. Need to understand the changing definitions of formats as information is published on the web. Distinctions between journal articles, weblog, book, scholarly monograph will blur as they are offered together in the same web-based source.

DIALOG (Lockheed) : 

DIALOG (Lockheed) Large collection of varied and sophisticated databases Dependent on the skilled user (librarian, information broker) to do Retrospective searches Bibliographic searches Online searches Mediated searches A delining segment of the reference world Charges have often been a factor in use

Database : 

Database “a set of information formatted into defined structures.” Importance of Boolean Logic The “and,” “or,” and “nor” commands Venn Diagrams illustrate resulting sets The essential machinery for making computerized information retrieval precise and effective.

Truncation : 

Truncation Shortening of a word or the elimination of some characters from a longer term to pick up on variants. Equivalent of the Boolean “or.” Referred to as “wildcard” and “stemming” *, ?, :, + Left, right, middle

Positional Searching : 

Positional Searching Proximity operators will find terms that are in the same position allowing more exact and richer searches. Weighting: allows a better Boolean in full text database Relevancy Rankings: Gives the greatest occurrence of chosen words to indicate “relevance.” Defaults: Often the Boolean “and.”

Electronic Resources and the End User : 

Electronic Resources and the End User Many more “screens” available to the user. Availability of more sophisticated tools End user access to Worldcat and Books in Print, etc. Means that questions that reference librarians field are more complex. Users are not aware of the internal workings of the systems that they are using. Interfaces vary from source to source and from gateway to gateway. Confidentiality issues Greater challenge and responsibility to guide the user.

Changing Definition of the Reference Collection : 

Changing Definition of the Reference Collection “a distinct set of print and electronic resources selected and acquired by reference librarians and made available within a recognizable space to local users.” Electronic resources have changed acquisition: interface, cost per use, “soft costs” (paid in time, energy, and frustration) Most sources are leased for a defined period of time and for a defined group of users. End user evaluation mechanisms are essential. Interfaces and “best uses” are always “under construction” Librarians are “trying to manage the fire-hose flow of information into drinking fountain streams of information that the user can handle.”