GENERAL SOURCES

Summary

Typical questions

• I'm doing a quiz. Where would be a good place to start?

• I'm stuck with my homework. Are there any good websites that would help?

• Can you recommend some good reference books to buy for use at home?

• Is there a directory of websites?

Considerations

Many single resources, printed and electronic, cover a large number of subjects. These will often be the first places to seek answers, especially if they are near to hand. The information may be brief and you may need to go on to more specialized and detailed sources, but it is surprising how often brief information, quickly obtained, satisfies most enquiries. Keep things simple and go for the obvious are two lessons quickly learned. Many of the following sources should be on the Enquiry Desk or on nearby shelves.

Where to look

Guides to reference sources

Owen, T. B. (2006) Success at the enquiry desk, Facet Publishing

As well as being an excellent introductory guide on how to deal with people making enquiries, this popular booklet has notes on the most useful reference works.

Bopp, R. G. (2008) Reference and information services: an introduction, 3rd edn, Libraries Unlimited

Gives background to reference work and resources; US emphasis.

Dixon, D. et al. (2005) Basic reference resources for the public library, CILIP Information Services Group

Guides to information sources is the title of a series of books published by K. G. Saur (previously Butterworth) which currently covers 25 subjects. They give more detail than is usually needed by staff in general libraries, but they provide a valuable guide for those who need to go into some depth, including the sophisticated library user.

Walford's Guide to reference materials (Library Association) is being replaced by The new Walford: guide to reference resources (Facet Publishing), general editor R. Lester.

This three-volume work is the standard UK guide to reference resources and provides a useful recourse should other approaches, such as direct appeal to library shelves, fail. Vol. 1, Science, technology and medicine, (2003), covers 8000 resources under 1000 subject headings. Vol. 2, The Social Sciences, was published in 2007; vol. 3 is in preparation, and will replace Generalia, language, literature, the arts (1998), 7th edn, Library Association.