Public Libraries and Their Communities: An Introduction provide an overview of public librarianship today. It covers library organization, policy development, staffing, fiscal organization including funding sources and budgets, the legal framework, relationships with local and state governments, advocacy, services and service development for different age groups and for different groups of users, development of programming and outreach, collection development, promotion and marketing, and current issues and trends. In addition to context and concepts, the book uses many examples from both large and small public libraries to bring principles to life. Examples include real library policies, case studies, strategic planning, organization charts and library budgets. Many think that public libraries are not complicated to run.This book aims to show that public libraries are very complicated and require much skill on the part of the director, staff, and Board of Trustees to meet the needs of their local users.Advocacy and marketing have become important parts of the work of public libraries. Funding is always challenging so public libraries must constantly be making the local government and its citizens aware of the public library - its programs, collections, and services. This book's focus is on how public libraries reach beyond the walls of their buildings and touch the lives of their citizens.Meeting community interests and needs is essential for 21st century public libraries. For students the book offers discussion questions at the end of each chapter. These questions also provide discussion starters for public library staff development.

Public Libraries and Their Communities: An Introduction provide an overview of public librarianship today. It covers library organization, policy development, staffing, fiscal organization including funding sources and budgets, the legal framework, relationships with local and state governments, advocacy, services and service development for different age groups and for different groups of users, development of programming and outreach, collection development, promotion and marketing, and current issues and trends. In addition to context and concepts, the book uses many examples from both large and small public libraries to bring principles to life. Examples include real library policies, case studies, strategic planning, organization charts and library budgets. Many think that public libraries are not complicated to run.This book aims to show that public libraries are very complicated and require much skill on the part of the director, staff, and Board of Trustees to meet the needs of their local users.Advocacy and marketing have become important parts of the work of public libraries. Funding is always challenging so public libraries must constantly be making the local government and its citizens aware of the public library - its programs, collections, and services. This book's focus is on how public libraries reach beyond the walls of their buildings and touch the lives of their citizens.Meeting community interests and needs is essential for 21st century public libraries. For students the book offers discussion questions at the end of each chapter. These questions also provide discussion starters for public library staff development.

Reference collections and services have changed considerably in the last three decades. We have moved from all services coming from the reference desk to a more fluid environment where users can be served in person, by phone, email, virtual reference/chat, instant messaging, texting, skyping, etc. Collections have changed too- from print collections, microfilm, microfiche and microcards to e-resources and e-books plus e-research collections in institutional archives. Although we see many libraries still providing traditional services, others have begun to move away from this model and try to develop and offer services and collections which will better serve their user population. With technology changing so fast, users expect to communicate with the library in whatever way they choose. They also want to obtain information with little effort on their part. Managing Reference Today: New Models and Practices * highlights newly developed service models that libraries are developing as well as the way they are handling changing reference collections. * describes new ways of providing reference services and new ideas of how to select and manage reference collections. * Identifies the best practices for meeting the needs of current and future library users in academic, special, and public library settings.

Reference collections and services have changed considerably in the last three decades. We have moved from all services coming from the reference desk to a more fluid environment where users can be served in person, by phone, email, virtual reference/chat, instant messaging, texting, skyping, etc. Collections have changed too- from print collections, microfilm, microfiche and microcards to e-resources and e-books plus e-research collections in institutional archives. Although we see many libraries still providing traditional services, others have begun to move away from this model and try to develop and offer services and collections which will better serve their user population. With technology changing so fast, users expect to communicate with the library in whatever way they choose. They also want to obtain information with little effort on their part. Managing Reference Today: New Models and Practices * highlights newly developed service models that libraries are developing as well as the way they are handling changing reference collections. * describes new ways of providing reference services and new ideas of how to select and manage reference collections. * Identifies the best practices for meeting the needs of current and future library users in academic, special, and public library settings.

Keeping pace with the rapidly shifting environment for all information services workers, in this book provides readers with the knowledge and tools needed to manage the ebb and flow of reference services in today's libraries. From the ongoing flood of misinformation to the swift changes occasioned by the pandemic, a myriad of factors is spurring our profession to rethink reference services. Luckily, this classic text is back in a newly overhauled edition that thoughtfully addresses the evolving reference landscape. Designed to complement every introductory library reference course, Cassell and Hiremath's book also serves as the perfect resource to guide current practitioners in their day-to-day work. It teaches failsafe methods for identifying important materials by matching specific types of questions to the best available sources, regardless of format. Guided by a national advisory board of educators and experts, this thoroughly updated text presents chapters covering fundamental concepts, major reference sources, and special topics while also offering fresh insights on timely issues, including a basic template for the skills required and expectations demanded of the reference librarian the pandemic's effect on reference services and how the ingenuity employed by libraries in providing remote and virtual reference is here to stay a new chapter dedicated to health information, with a special focus on health equity and information sources selecting and evaluating reference materials, with strategies for keeping up to date a heightened emphasis on techniques for evaluating sources for misinformation and ways to give library users the tools to discern facts vs. ""fake facts"" reference as programming, readers' advisory services, developmentally appropriate material for children and young adults, and information literacy evidence-based guidance on handling microaggressions in reference interactions, featuring discussions of cultural humility and competence alongside recommended resources on implicit bias managing, assessing, and improving reference services the future of information and reference services, encapsulating existing models, materials, and services to project possible evolutions in the dynamic world of reference.

Designed to complement every introductory library reference course, this is the perfect text for students and librarians looking to expand their personal reference knowledge, teaching failsafe methods for identifying important materials by matching specific types of questions to the best available sources, regardless of format. Guided by a national advisory board of educators and practitioners including Eileen Abels, Anita Ondrusek, Marie L. Radford, and Steven Tash, this text expertly keeps up with new technologies and practices while remaining grounded in the basics of reference work. Chapters on fundamental concepts, major reference sources, and special topics in reference provide a solid foundation, plus fresh insight on new issues, including *New chapters on ethics, readers' advisory, and reference services for children and young adults *Website development and maintenance *RSS feeds *Social networking *Delivering reference services across multiple platforms As librarians experience a changing climate for all information services professionals, Cassell and Hiremath provide the tools needed to manage the ebb and flow of changing reference services in the 21st century.