Adjunct Lecturer Melissa Wong (MSLIS '94) and Laura Saunders, professor of library and information science at Simmons University, are the co-editors of Reference and Information Services: An Introduction, Seventh Edition, which was recently published by Bloomsbury Libraries Unlimited. The textbook provides a comprehensive update to the previous edition, also co-edited by Wong and Saunders, and serves as an essential resource for LIS students and practitioners alike.
"This edition continues the tradition of providing a comprehensive introduction to reference work with chapters authored by experts in the field. Chapters combine research and theory with practical insights on contemporary reference practice. Critical theory and social justice perspectives are integrated throughout the text, inviting readers to reflect on the standards and practices of the field and consider how to develop robust, responsive information services for diverse users in libraries of all types," said Wong.
The first half of the book discusses the foundations of reference and reference services as well as techniques for service provision, including ethical and social justice perspectives. The second half covers the information life cycle and dissemination of information, along with key sources for reference work in all subject areas, concluding with the process of developing and maintaining a vision of reference practice.
In addition to Wong, who authored or co-authored five chapters, those with iSchool connections who contributed articles include:
- Opetoritse A. Adefolalu (MSLIS '17), head of Children’s Services for the Lower Mills Branch of the Boston Public Library ("Ready-Reference Sources")
- Barbara A. Alvarez (MSLIS '12), iSchool adjunct lecturer ("News Sources")
- Anne C. Barnhart (MSLIS '99), iSchool adjunct lecturer and professor and head of outreach and assessment at the University of West Georgia ("Selection and Evaluation of Reference Sources")
- Sarah Erekson (MSLIS '04), regional government documents librarian at the University of Florida ("Government Information")
- Jeanne Holba Puacz (MSLIS '92), iSchool adjunct lecturer ("Biographical and Genealogical Sources")
- Ellen Rubenstein (PhD '11), associate professor at the University of Oklahoma ("Health and Medicine Sources")
The new edition builds on the legacy of the original textbook of the same name, which was first co-edited by iSchool Professor Emerita Linda C. Smith with Richard E. Bopp.
Wong, formerly an academic librarian and library director, is an iSchool adjunct lecturer who teaches courses in reference, instruction, and academic librarianship. She is editor in chief of the iSchool's quarterly journal Library Trends, which is published by Johns Hopkins University Press. In addition to co-editing the fifth, sixth, and seventh editions of Reference and Information Services: An Introduction, her contributions include co-authoring the open-access textbook Instruction in Libraries and Information Centers (Windsor & Downs, 2020) and authoring Instructional Design for LIS Professionals (Libraries Unlimited, 2019). In 2022, she received the Reference and User Services Association's highest honor, the Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award, which recognizes distinguished contributions to reference librarianship.