Evolution in Reference and Information Services: The Impact of the Internet (review)

Di Su carefully selected a solid group of knowledgeable authors for this issue of The Reference Librarian. Su is assistant professor and Head of Information Literacy at York College Library (CUNY) with three publications and several contributions to the Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives listed on his Web site. Most of the contributors are practicing professionals from academic libraries that are well regarded in the world of digital reference work. Their varied approaches allowed Su to provide readers with history, analysis, synthesis, research, praxis, and case-study work.

As is common in the Haworth compilations, the coverage of the subject's subtopics is a bit uneven, but such is the nature of the beast. For example, the thoughtful ruminations on general changes in Internet training at a particular corporate library take space that might have been better served by a piece on policies and practices involved in the development of synchronous digital reference service. Nevertheless, vibrant, analytic approaches to the sacred cows of modern reference service strengthen the work. For example, Susan Ardis (University of Texas at Austin) contributed an engaging discussion on the practical implications of her library's creative, aggressive approach to Internet service design. All in all, this collection provides a useful array of cogent articles on both instruction and reference.

From the perspective of a front-line academic reference-instruction librarian, four articles stand out by providing particularly effective models for daily practice. Instruction librarians should note that John Drobnicki (York College Library/CUNY) and Richard Asaro (Queens Borough Public Library) take a very narrow, but useful tool for teaching elements of critical thinking in Internet use (i.e., historical fabrication sites) and explain it carefully in an essay replete with examples. Similarly, those who are beginning to examine mental model theory in their instructional work would benefit from Scott Brandt's explication of basic theories. Based at Purdue University, Brandt carefully covers Library and Information Studies (LIS) proponents of reference system models, moves on to the more theoretical mental models of both LIS and psychology, and wraps up with an application of these frameworks to Internet instruction efforts. Reference librarians who began their careers before the Internet became a standard part of reference classes will enjoy the well-developed article on historical contexts written by Joseph Straw (University of Akron). Finally, given the plethora of complex government Web sites, Robert Machalow's tutorial on finding and using these special resources provides an efficient mechanism for developing confidence and expertise in their use. Also based at the York College Library, Machalow roots his explanations in process and strategy rather than simply providing a "webliography" of sites.

Managers would do well to review four articles that encourage development of services and staff expertise. Clearly delineating the elements of instruction that service coordinators should understand, the piece by Charity Hope, et al., is rooted in the theoretical basis of librarians' growing instructional role. This praxis approach provides both concrete service options and principles to support strategic planning. Those seriously willing to re-examine their entire approach to providing digital service would do well to read Susan Ardis's piece on serving engineering students. Striving to fit deeply into the information lives of their users, her staff at the McKinney Engineering Library (University of Texas at Austin) provide a remarkable set of integrated services that are heavily marketed to their target audience. Well matched with the Ardis piece, Michael Adams covers selecting and organizing reference Web sites. He provides managers with a user-centered process to follow as they develop or re-develop their Internet reference collection. Almost unique in the literature on digital reference collections, Adams' work at the CUNY Graduate Center uses a decision tree...