If you maintain a separate print reference collection for kids, what titles are on your shelves? How current is your collection? What kind of use does your children’s reference collection get?
As I visit different libraries around the state, I wonder about the practice of keeping print reference collections for children and even adults. Reference materials are costly, and they take up much shelf space. Given the availability of online reference material and electronic databases, I know it must be hard to decide what to keep in the print reference collection and what to weed.
Some librarians justify their reference materials by pointing out that school assignments often require kids to use print materials. Others say that outdated encyclopedias still contain good information, and that they have no funds to purchase a new set.
In some places, librarians have dismantled their print reference collections. They have tossed old and under-used reference materials and interfiled other reference works with their nonfiction collection. Most report that these interfiled titles increase in circulation.
I applaud those librarians who are tackling this issue with creative ideas. It’s a whole new world of reference these days, and libraries need to start thinking in new ways about print reference collections. So, what do you think and what have you done about reference materials in your library?
The first three people who reply to this message will receive a new book on the van!