Reference Universe

Many reference librarians must on occasion have eyed volumes of (say) encyclopaedias occupying a fair space of precious open access shelving and speculated as to the huge amount of content within. And wondered if there was some way of “unlocking” what was within; indeed – perish the thought – how often these works were consulted and, if infrequently, could perhaps be candidates for disposal to release much needed shelf space. After all, to consult a particular entry – e.g. the Spanish Civil War – is relatively straightforward, but to locate references to a topic within the wider subject is far...