This second edition of Information Services Today: An Introduction demonstrates the ever-changing landscape of information services today and the need to re-evaluate curriculum, competency training, and one’s personal learning network in order to stay abreast of current trends and issues, and more significantly, remain competent to address the changing user needs of the information community. Specifically, the book • provides a thorough introduction, history, and overall state of the field, • gives a diverse and global perspective of what it means to be a library and information professional today, • addresses why information organizations and information and technological literacy are more important today than ever before, • discusses how technology has influenced the ways that information professionals provide information resources and services in today’s digital environment, • highlights current issues and trends and provides expert insight into emerging challenges, innovations, and opportunities for the future, and, • identifies career management strategies and leadership opportunities in the information profession. The new edition features chapter updates to address changes in information services, introducing new topics such as strategic planning, change management, design thinking, advocacy, and data management and analysis, and includes new contributing authors. The book begins with an overview of libraries and their transformation as information and technological hubs within their local and digital communities. It covers the various specializations within the field – emphasizing the exciting yet complex roles and opportunities for information professionals in a variety of information environments. With that foundation in place, it presents the fundamentals of information services, delves into management skills needed by information professionals today, and explores emerging issues related to the rapid development of new technologies. The book addresses how libraries and information centers serve different kinds of communities, highlighting the unique needs of increasingly diverse users and how information organizations and information professional’s work to fulfill those needs. This book provokes discussion, critical thinking, and interaction to facilitate the learning process. The content and supplemental materials – discussion questions, rich sets of online accessible materials, multimedia webcast interviews featuring authors from this book discussing the trends and issues in their respective areas, and chapter presentation slides for use by instructors – give readers the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of and engagement with the topics. Additionally, this book recognizes the broad range of environments that people with Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degrees work in, which include both libraries and other information environments. Thus, this book does not only focus on libraries, but instead encompasses ALL kinds of information organizations.

Students come to the school library every day with questions ranging from “How many people live in China?” to “I need to find out how the Sun began for my science paper.” Helping students find the answers to their questions is one of the most important responsibilities school librarians have. In Introduction to Reference and Information Services in Today's School Library, one of America’s premier school library educators covers the A-Z of both reference and information services for today’s library. Everything from teaching students how to use sources to both in-person and virtual reference service is covered. A key feature of the text is an annotated bibliography of core print and electronic sources for elementary, middle, and high school collections. Yes, reference and information services are vital library functions in the digital age. Even students who appear to be tech savvy have trouble finding the right information efficiently - and knowing what to do with it. This book examines information needs and behaviors, and provides strategies for assessing and meeting the informational needs of the school community. The book also addresses the conditions for optimum service: physical access (including virtual access), effective interaction and collaboration, instructional design, and systematic planning. Newer issues such as embedded librarianship, curation,collective intelligence, and web 2.0 intellectual property are also addressed. This book introduces the entering professional, and updates practitioners, to current standards and useful strategies.

An in-depth analysis of strategic management concepts and techniques and how they can be usefully applied to the planning and delivery of information services. Offers practical guidance on the strategy process from appraisal and assessment through to implementation and improvement. Examines the environment in which planning takes place, and financial management issues.Annotated references to management and information service literature.Includes further reading and index. Sheila Corrall is the University Librarian at the University of Reading. She has worked as an information specialist, manager and consultant in public, and national academic libraries. At the British Library, her roles included policy and planning support to top management and responsibility for a portfolio of revenue-earning services in science, technology, patents and business information.

Search skills of today bear little resemblance to searches through print publications. Reference service has become much more complex than in the past, and is in a constant state of flux. Learning the skill sets of a worthy reference librarian can be challenging, unending, rewarding, and-- yes, fun.

Librarians and library administrators must plan for the future of information services and delivery now if they wish to survive as vital organizations in the coming years and influence the direction in which libraries will head. The Future of Information Services focuses on the long-range outlook for libraries and includes discussions of implications the future has for organizational structures and services. The contributing authors share their thoughts on many of the issues that need to be resolved in order for libraries to flourish in the twenty-first century, providing needed guidance for readers struggling with the myriad changes taking place in the information world today. The ideas and strategies in this book provide readers with a strong background to help enable them to lead their profession successfully into the future. The Future of Information Services discusses organizational development and administration, reviews major functions and departments included in most academic and public libraries to see what significant differences there may be in the library of the future, and explores partnerships in the information future. Specific topics addressed in the volume include: leadership requirements for the future of information services building a community electronic information infrastructure organization and role of library systems staff in relation to public service staff international and foreign information services in the expanding global community library and information studies education for the twenty-first century practitioner a future for special collections future directions for the U.S. government documents program fee-based services information professionals'relationships with vendors Librarians are in a unique position to provide leadership as society works toward the information future. Successful leadership during current, seemingly chaotic times requires a high degree of creativity, risk taking, and innovation, along with a clear understanding and articulation of professional values and vision. The Future of Information Services helps readers see into the future and clarify goals toward which to work to enable them and their successors to provide effective information services for years to come.

Reflecting the dramatic changes shaped by rapidly developing technologies over the past six years, this new fourth edition of Reference and Information Services takes the introduction to reference sources and services significantly beyond the content of the first three editions. In Part I, Concepts and Processes, chapters have been revised and updated to reflect new ideas and methods in the provision of reference service in an era when many users have access to the Web. In Part II, Information Sources and Their Use, discussion of each source type has been updated to encompass key resources in print and on the Web, where an increasing number of freely available sources join those purchased or licensed by libraries. A number of new authors are contributors to this new edition, bringing to their chapters their experience as teachers of reference and as practitioners in different types of libraries. Discussions of services in Part I integrate digital reference as appropriate to each topic, such as how to conduct a reference interview online using instant messaging. Boxes interspersed in the text are used to present scenarios for discussion, to highlight key concepts, or to present excerpts from important documents. Discussions of sources in Part II place more emphasis on designing effective search strategies using both print and digital resources. The chapter on selection and evaluation of sources addresses the changing nature of reference collections and how to evaluate new types of sources. Each chapter concludes with an updated list of additional readings to guide further study. A new companion website will provide links to Web-accessible readings and resources as well as additional scenarios for discussion and example search strategies to supplement those presented in the text.