White Paper: “The State of Reference Collections” by Elisabeth Leonard

“Earlier this week, a new white paper was released titled “The State of Reference Collections” by Elisabeth Leonard, Executive Market Research Manager at SAGE and Former Reference Librarian.

Leonard conducted the study using a combination of a survey (n = 482), several focus groups, and interviews. Her article explores how the definition of reference is changing, in part because reference resources now look and feel like other information sources and because other information resources perform the traditional purpose of reference – answering research questions.”

Read the full paper here: http://ow.ly/yeXik 20 page PDF

snippet:

“What Librarians Wished Publishers Provided

What librarians wished existed more than anything is a discovery service for reference. Additional items on the wish list were more statistical reference resources, a competitor to Wikipedia, a critically reviewed directory of scholarly journals and publishers, image databases, better international legal reference resources, and video reference products.

What Librarians Were Surprised Reference Publishers Still Publish

What surprised librarians the most is that reference publishers still publish any print reference. More specifically, they were surprised that publishers still publish directories (especially print directories), abstract and indexing sources (especially when there is no corresponding full text), print textbooks, multivolume print encyclopedias (some librarians referred to these as coffee-table reference), almanacs, handbooks, supplier catalogs, government publications that are freely available online, DVDs, CD-ROMs, gazetteers, biographical sources such as Who’s Who, and anything that is not current. The most complete explanation about the disinterest in older information was expressed by one participant: “do think [publishers] need to be much more cognizant of the age of materials they want libraries to purchase; it used to be that materials 3–5 years old were fine; today 1 year is about it when looking at the age of the material in a database. Older material along with new is fine, but putting an old book online will not cause me to buy it.”

Major Findings

1. There is a new definition for reference resources.

2. Librarians do not expect patrons to know about reference resources.

3. Funding for reference has changed.

4. There is a shift from print to electronic reference.

5. Challenges for reference publishers are focused on what libraries can afford

Conclusion:

“The future of reference is far from grim, despite competition from Google, Wikipedia, and other resources
and despite budgetary constraints. Librarians are still interested in resources that make research easier
for their patrons and will buy those resources when there is a clear use case for them. This includes
integrating into reference the notion that the types of resources that now define reference include article,
statistical, and video databases. Librarians see utility in any resource that helps patrons find an answer
to their research question, especially in an age with an increased number of both free and fee-based
sources of information, and this is how they see reference, whether they are referring to reference as a
product type or as a service:

I try not to engage in prognosticating, especially over something that could evolve in so many
different ways. Having said that, I do think that information overload will continue to be something
important and that I think that in the future—as is the case now—reference sources will help both
professionals and lay people navigate the ever-increasing glut of available information.

The problem faced by many patrons who do not know where to start or what answer they can rely on
remains as a challenge for librarians and one they hope can continue to be answered by reference
sources. Publishers should continue to pursue innovative ways to bring information together to help
librarians and their patrons, despite the fact that sometimes an idea arrives in the market before its time.
The right reference products at the right price will continue to find an audience—at least for the next five years.”

Stephen