Help adults returning to school learn to find and use the information they need

Reference Services for the Adult Learner: Challenging Issues for the Traditional and Technological Era offers proven, effective approaches for teaching adult patrons how and where to find information. Unlike younger students, who in many cases grew up with computers at school and in the home, many older patrons are uncomfortable with current technologies. They may not remember how to use a card catalogue, but at least the drawers and index cards look familiar. A phrase like database search may bring on...

This insightful book shows you how to deal with an issue as old as the library profession: interacting with problem patrons. It looks at this fact of life that affects almost every facet of library work and provides practical solutions--some developed within the field and some borrowed from other professions--that will improve reference services for those you serve and make the work of your library staff less stressful, more productive, and increasingly meaningful.

Helping the Difficult Library Patron: New Approaches to Examining and Resolving a Long-Standing and Ongoing Problem...

Learn the skills needed to update and manage a reference department that efficiently meets the needs of clients today--and tomorrow
Managing the Twenty-First Century Reference Department: Challenges and Prospects provides librarians with the knowledge and skills they need to manage an effective reference service. Full of useful and practical ideas, this book presents successful methods for recruiting and retaining capable reference department staff and management, training new employees and adapting current services to an evolving field. Expert practitioners address the changing role of...

Learn the skills needed to update and manage a reference department that efficiently meets the needs of clients today--and tomorrow
Managing the Twenty-First Century Reference Department: Challenges and Prospects provides librarians with the knowledge and skills they need to manage an effective reference service. Full of useful and practical ideas, this book presents successful methods for recruiting and retaining capable reference department staff and management, training new employees and adapting current services to an evolving field. Expert practitioners address the changing role of...

A problem patron is not one with difficult requests or obscure interests, but one who displays behavior that is deemed destructive, criminal, bothersome, offensive, or otherwise inappropriate. Librarians look at the nature of the problem in academic and public libraries, the impact of such technologies as the Internet and cell phones, and solutions