The future of reference: get real! Available to Purchase

This paper takes a pragmatic practitioner’s view of the future of reference. It discusses five issues that need to be addressed for reference to advance logically: designing the right systems; keeping a local focus on user needs; getting a realistic perspective on library instruction; acknowledging the paradigm shift in reference question complexity; and the public relations aspects of reference services. Emphasis is placed on using technology as a tool to gain our ends, rather than employing it simply as a new toy and an end in itself.