Semester 1 - 15 July, 2002 - 9 Nov, 2002

This course provides professional knowledge of the range and structure of tools developed for information access, how to select appropriate information sources, and the various strategies that can be used when searching for information in traditional reference tools, online data access services, and distributed retrieval systems.

• demonstrate knowledge of the major information sources and reference tools which facilitate access to information;
• develop evaluative skills for selecting information sources;
• use the major information sources to answer standard user enquiries; and
• carry out online searches using a variety of information retrieval systems and services.
  

• Lecture Introduction
• General Reference Sources I: Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
• General Reference Sources II: Ready Reference Sources
• General Reference Sources III: Indexes, Abstracts, Biographies - EbscoHost
• Electronic Information Sources I: Current Information & News - Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
• Electronic Information Sources II: Commercial Databases - DIALOG
• Electronic Information Sources: World Wide Web
• Geographic Information Sources and Use
• Business Information Sources
• Scientific and Technical Information Sources
• Technical Reports & Govt. Info Sources
• The Reference Interview
• Revision

• [Katz1] Katz, W.A. (2002). Introduction to Reference Work (Volume I): Basic Information Services (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
• [Katz2] Katz, W.A. (2002). Introduction to Reference Work (Volume II): Reference Services and Reference Processes (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Bopp, R. E., Smith, L.C. (2001). Reference and Information Services: An Introduction (3rd ed.). Englewood, CO.: Libraries Unlimited.
• Alexander, J.E., & Tate, M.A. (1999). Web Wisdom: How To Evaluate and Create Information Quality on the Web. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Harris, R. (2000). A Guidebook to the Web. New York: McGraw-Hill.