Public Services Quarterly (PSQ) invites submission of manuscripts for a special thematic issue (volume 7, issue 1/2) on “Rethinking Reference.”
Theme:
As reference statistics from traditional reference desks decline each year, librarians are rethinking delivery of reference services. From combined service desks (reference and circulation) to tiered models (an information desk serving as triage to the reference office) to roving reference, librarians continue to search for ways of reaching out to patrons at their point of need.
In this special issue, we seek to explore new and innovative ways of the delivery of reference services. Some questions that may be addressed include, but not limited to:
• If you’ve done away with a traditional reference desk, what service replaces it?
• How do you balance delivery of in-person and virtual reference services?
• In staffing an Information Commons, do you need technology support, librarian support, both, or librarian as technology support?
• What are the skills and knowledge required of reference librarians in the 21st century?
• How, if at all, do generalist reference librarians develop subject specialist expertise, and vice versa? Are the two roles complimentary?
Nicole Cooke, Librarian/Assistant Professor at Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, and Ellen Keith, Reference Services Coordinator and Librarian for Sociology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, will edit this special issue of PSQ.
Deadlines:
• Manuscript submissions are due December 1, 2010.
• Accepted authors will be notified on January 3, 2011.
• Author revisions are due February 1, 2011.
Please submit manuscripts and direct questions to the special issue editors, Nicole Cooke (cooken@mail.montclair.edu) and Ellen Keith (ekeith@jhu.edu).
Publication:
Public Services Quarterly, a Taylor & Francis Group/Routledge publication, is a peer reviewed journal that examines traditional and nontraditional areas of public service in academic libraries. This special issue of PSQ will NOT be refereed.
This special issue is scheduled for publication in June 2011.
For more information on Public Services Quarterly and the Instructions for Authors, please visit:
http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=journal&issn=1522-8959
