Reference & User Services Quarterly articles from June 2009

Reference & User Services Quarterly archives from June 2009

Kudos Redux
June 22, 2009... I am using this space to once again thank all the individuals who contributed to the production of RUSQ during the past year. Members of the RUSQ Editorial Advisory Board strive to provide meaningful and constructive feedback to authors. The...

Visions of RUSA Future
June 22, 2009... It is somewhat traditional for RUSA presidents to focus their final "From the President" column on the future of RUSA and the profession. I think that the future of librarianship is, as ever, strong and exciting. In ten years we may not be doing...

Teaching Reference: Ten Questions from a First Attempt
June 22, 2009... I was a little behind in getting this column finished. This semester I took on another project that has required a lot of time: teaching an introductory reference course online for a graduate school of LIS. Fortunately for me, this is a...

Global Warming: Resources to Sustain a Collection
June 22, 2009... Reduce, reuse, recycle: It's the simple mantra of a movement to help save the earth. While most of us have installed eco-efficient light bulbs and neatly bundle our old newspapers for weekly pickup, crafting environmental collections that serve...

Barriers to Extracurricular Reading Promotion in Academic Libraries
June 22, 2009... In her 2007 column "Academic Libraries and Extracurricular Reading Promotion" (RUSQ 46:3), Julie Elliott looked at the history of Readers' Advisory (RA) and extracurricular reading in academic libraries, and made a cogent argument for the...

Notable Books: The 2009 Selection of Titles
June 22, 2009... This list has been compiled for use by the general reader and by librarians who work with adults. RUSA's Notable Books Council has selected the titles for their significant contributions to the expansion of knowledge or for the pleasure they can...

Outstanding Reference Sources: the 2009 selection of titles.(FROM COMMITTEES OF RUSA)(Bibliography)
June 22, 2009... The 2009 list of Outstanding Reference Sources for small and medium-sized libraries has been announced by RUSA. The titles, selected by the RUSA Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) Reference Sources Committee, represent...

The Reading List 2009.(FROM COMMITTEES OF RUSA)(Book review)
June 22, 2009... The Reading List annually recognizes the best books in eight genres: adrenaline (which includes suspense, thriller, and adventure), fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction, and women's fiction. This year's list...

Perception and Use of PowerPoint at Library Instruction Conferences
June 22, 2009... This article examines Microsoft PowerPoint use at library conferences. Through a survey of two hundred librarians, the first part explores librarians' perceptions of PowerPoint use at library instruction conferences. Through a content analysis...

Promoting Library Reference Services to First-Year Undergraduate Students: What Works?
June 22, 2009... Most academic libraries have limited budgets for promoting their reference services. Understanding which promotions best reach current and potential patrons is crucial to budgeting funding, as well as time, effectively. This article describes a...

Reference Classification-Is It Time to Make Some Changes?
June 22, 2009... In 2005, the authors tested the consistency and ease of use of a skill and strategy-based reference question classification system published by Warner in 2001. Results of that test indicated that the Warner system was a significant improvement...

Retaining Intellectual Capital: Retired Faculty and Academic Libraries
June 22, 2009... The intellectual life of retired faculty members, whose numbers will skyrocket in the coming years, can be enhanced with adequate library support. This paper provides a descriptive study of the professional activities of emeriti faculty at one...

Creating a Digital Archive for Students' Research in a Credit Library Course
June 22, 2009... Using wiki technology in a credit library course, the authors created an online exhibit for students' research entitled the Distal Archive. The purpose of the Digital Archive is to showcase students' final projects from the course and to...

Africa and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Africa and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History. Ed. by Richard M. Juang and Noelle Morrissette. Transadamic Relations Series. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio, 2008.3 vols. alkaline $270 (ISBN 978-1-85109-441-7). ABC-Clio's...

Chronology of American History.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Chronology of American History. By John C. Fredriksen. Facts On File Library of American History. New York: Facts On File, 2008. 4 vols. alkaline $350 (ISBN 978-0-8160-6800-5). Although the United States cannot boast of a history...

Conflict Between India and Pakistan: An Encyclopedia.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Conflict Between India and Pakistan: An Encyclopedia. By Peter Lyon. Roots of Modern Conflict. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2008. 389p. alkaline $85 (ISBN 978-1-57607-712-2). Covering the relations between India and Pakistan from...

Cultural Encyclopedia of the Body.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Cultural Encyclopedia of the Body. Ed. by Victoria Pitts-Taylor. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 2008. 2 vols. alkaline $175 (ISBN 978-0-313-34145-8). What do The Vagina Monologues, Michael Jackson's face, and the cultural history of...

Diseases and Disorders.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Diseases and Disorders. Ed. by Wendy Horobin. Tarrytown, New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2008. 3 vols. alkaline $279.95 (ISBN 978-0-7614-7770-9). Diseases and Disorders is a concise and nicely organized three-volume encyclopedia intended...

Encyclopedia of American Government and Civics.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Encyclopedia of American Government and Civics. By Michael A. Genovese and Lori C. Han. Facts On File Library of American History New York: Facts On File, 2009. 3 vols. alkaline $250 (ISBN 978-0-8160-6616-2). The editors have put...

Encyclopedia of Counseling.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Encyclopedia of Counseling. Ed. by Frederick T. Leong and W. B. Walsh. Los Angeles: Sage, 2008. 4 vols. alkaline $795 (ISBN 978-1-4129-0928-0). Here is an example of an encyclopedia where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts....

Encyclopedia of Hispanic-American Literature.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Encyclopedia of Hispanic-American Literature. By Luz E. Ramirez. Facts On File Library of American Literature. New York: Facts On File, 2008. 447p. alkaline $75 (ISBN 978-0-8160-6084-9). This book is designed as a general introduction of...

The Encyclopedia of North American Colonial Conflicts to 1775: A Political, Social, and Military History.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... The Encyclopedia of North American Colonial Conflicts to 1775: A Political, Social, and Military History. Ed. by Spencer C. Tucker. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2008. 3 vols. alkaline $295 (ISBN 978-1-85109-752-4). Anyone who...

Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Medieval World.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Medieval World. Ed. by Pam J. Crabtree. Facts On File Library of World History. New York: Facts On File, 2008. 4 vols. acid free $360 (ISBN 978-0-8160-6936-1). Encyclopedia of Society and Culture...

Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research. Ed. by Clive N. Svendsen and Allison D. Ebert. Los Angeles: Sage, 2008.2 vols. $250 (ISBN 978-1-4129-5908-7). The two coeditors of this encyclopedia work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Stem...

Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture. Ed. by M. A. Ehrlich. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2008.3 vols. alkaline $295 (ISBN 978-1-85109-873-6). Editor M. A. Ehrlich's Encyclopedia of the Jewish...

Encyclopedia of the Social and Cultural Foundations of Education.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Encyclopedia of the Social and Cultural Foundations of Education. Ed. by Eugene E Provenzo. Los Angeles: Sage, 2008. 3 vols. acid free $4-25 (ISBN 978-1-4129-0678-4). This uniquely browsable encyclopedia was created "to provide a...

Encyclopedia of World History.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Encyclopedia of World History. By Marsha E. Ackermann, Michael Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, and Mark E Whitters. Facts On File Library of World History. New York: Facts On File, 2008. 7 vols. alkaline $650 (ISBN...

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Latino Literature.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Latino Literature. Ed. by Nicolas Kanellos. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 2008. 3 vols. alkaline $299.95 (ISBN 978-0-313-33970-7). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Latino Literature, edited by Nicolas Kanellos...

The Legislative Branch of Federal Government: People, Process, and Politics.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... The Legislative Branch of Federal Government: People, Process, and Politics. By Gary P. Gershman. About Federal Government. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio, 2008. 450p. alkaline $95 (ISBN 978-1-85109-712-8). Although the federal...

The Old West: History and Heritage.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... The Old West: History and Heritage. Ed. by Edward Countrymen. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2008. 11 vols. alkaline $359.95 (ISBN 978-0-7614-7829-4). Published to bring alive the American West to its readers, this multivolume...

Organized Crime: From Trafficking to Terrorism.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Organized Crime: From Trafficking to Terrorism. Ed. by Frank Shanty. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2008. 2 vols. acid free $195 (ISBN 978-1-57607-337-7). According to general editor Frank Shanty, the goal of this two-volume...

Rights of the Disabled.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Rights of the Disabled. By David M. Haugen. Library in a Book. New York: Facts On File, 2008. 296p. alkaline $45 (ISBN 978-0-8160-7128-9). Despite the passage of landmark federal legislation, Americans with disabilities (estimated at more...

Scientific Thought: In Context.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Scientific Thought: In Context. Ed. by Brenda W. Lerner and K. L. Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2008. 3 vols. $385 (ISBN 978-1-4144-0298-7). The goal of the In Context series is to serve "as an authoritative reference guide to essential concepts...

Story Behind the Protest Song: A Reference Guide to the 50 Songs That Changed the 20th Century.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Story Behind the Protest Song: A Reference Guide to the 50 Songs That Changed the 20th Century. By Hardeep Phull. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 2008. 304p. alkaline $65 (ISBN 978-0-313-34141-0). British music journalist Hardeep Phull has...

U-X-L Encyclopedia of U.S. History.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... U-X-L Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Ed. by Sonia Benson, Daniel E. Brannen, and Rebecca Valentine. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 8 vols. $485 (ISBN 978-1-4144-3043-0). The purpose of U-X-L Encyclopedia of U.S. History is to introduce "students to...

World and Its Peoples: The Americas.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... World and Its Peoples: The Americas. World and Its Peoples. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2008. 11 vols. alkaline $499.95 (ISBN 978-0-7614-7802-7). This geographical encyclopedia is the third part of a series that will eventually provide...

Answers to the Health Questions People Ask in Libraries.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Answers to the Health Questions People Ask in Libraries. By Laura Townsend Kane, Rozalynd P. McConnaughy, Steven Patrick Wilson, and David L. Townsend. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2008. 278p. paper $65 (ISBN 1-55570-642-8). For any reference...

Books and Beyond: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of New American Reading.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Books and Beyond: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of New American Reading. Ed. by Kenneth Womack. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 2008. 1292p. cloth $399.95 (ISBN 978-0-313-33738-3). In the United States today, the huge number of available fiction...

Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0. Ed. by Peter Godwin and Jo Parker. London: Facet, 2008. 200p. cloth $110 (ISBN 978-1-85604-637-4). Over the last several years, numerous texts have explored Library 2.0 from a variety of angles....

A Picture Book Primer: Understanding and Using Picture Books.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... A Picture Book Primer: Understanding and Using Picture Books. By Denise I. Matulka. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2008. 307p. paper $40 (ISBN 1-59158-441-4). What is a picture book? Is picture book a format or a genre? In A...

Reference Sources for Small and Medium-Sized Libraries.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Reference Sources for Small and Medium-Sized Libraries. 7th edition. Ed. by Jack O'Gorman. Chicago: ALA, 2008. 329p. paper $80 (ISBN 0-8389-0943-4). Many librarians became acquainted with Reference Sources for Small and Medium-Sized...

Transforming Library Service through Information Commons: Case Studies for the Digital Age.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Transforming Library Service through Information Commons: Case Studies for the Digital Age. D. Russel Bailey and Barbara Dunter Tierney. Chicago: ALA, 2008. 155p. paper $55 (ISBN 978-0-8389-0958-4; 0-8389-0958-2). The focus of...

Web Accessibility: Practical Advice for the Library and Information Professional.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Web Accessibility: Practical Advice for the Library and Information Professional. Ed. by Jenny Craven. London: Facet, 2008. 168p. cloth $110 (ISBN 978-1-85604-625-1). Numerous official resources are available on the topic of Web...