1st Edition

Access Services: The Convergence of Reference and Technical Services

By Gillian M. McCombs Copyright 1992

    This book takes a close look at the recent changing emphasis from collections to access, and from document description to document delivery. As the automation of library processes has moved from technical services to reference services, the roles of the professionals working in those capacities have changed dramatically. Library administrators who are looking to redeploy resources will gain helpful insights from the experiences of librarians who have already redirected their organizations.

    This helpful volume will be of tremendous assistance in redefining the traditional roles of reference and technical librarians. Access Services offers new insights into the movement from bibliographic access to information access that is reshaping reference services today. Informative discussions on topics such as cross-training experiments, revised organizational structures, the new role of the bibliographic utilities, library school education for the redefined professional, and changes in cataloging codes reveal what impact this trend has for librarians, services, and patrons.

    Contents Introduction: The Reference/Technical Services Interaction, Revisited
    • I. Public Services Perspective
    • Dual Function Librarianship: What Makes it Work?
    • RLIN Research Access Project: An Education in User Expectations
    • How Did We Get Here: Thoughts on the Convergence of Reference and Technical Services
    • Access vs. Ownership: Changing Roles for Librarians
    • II. Technical Services Perspective
    • The Blurring of Divisional Lines Between Technical and Public Services: An Emphasis on Access
    • On Becoming Team Players
    • Cataloging for Access
    • Automation, Barriers and Communication: How an Integrated Library System Changes Public Services-Technical Services Relationships
    • III. The New Access Services
    • The Climate of Change: Library Organizational Structures, 1985-1990
    • From Binomial to Trinomial: The Entrance of Collection Development into the Public/Technical Services Equation
    • IV. National Library Wide Concerns
    • Education for the Dual Role Responsibilities of an Access Services Librarian
    • A United Professional Cadre
    • From Document Delivery to Information Access: Convergence at the National Level
    • Special Report: Ranking the Reference Books: Methodologies for Identifying “Key” Reference Sources
    • Refer Madness: A Sesquilogue
    • Reference Notes Included

    Biography

    McCombs, Gillian M.