Quick Reference

1. Aim

The aim of an online Quick Reference Collection (QRC) is to provide a “ready-reference” web-based supplement to the specialist and subject-based reference sources.

2. Scope

There is a close relationship between the type of information found in print reference collections and those in the QRC. Harrod's Librarians' Glossary defines reference material as:

 
"Books, such as dictionaries, encyclopaedia, gazetteers, year books, directories, concordance, indexes, bibliographies and atlases, which are compiled to supply definite pieces of information of varying extent, and intended to be referred to rather than read through." ¹
 

The Encyclopaedia of Librarianship lists 11 categories:

  1. Guides to the literature
  2. Bibliographies
  3. Indexing and abstracting services
  4. Encyclopaedia – general and specific
  5. Dictionaries
  6. Handbooks, compendia of data (including statistics)
  7. Histories – general, period, national, subject
  8. Biographical – retrospective, current, subject
  9. Atlases and maps; collections of places or illustrations
  10. Annuals and directories
  11. Serial publications – newspapers and periodicals ²

As can be seen from the above, the emphasis is strongly on the genre rather than the subject matter of information source.

3. Presentation Issues

The presentation of the QRC categories on the Library's website should be consistent with the aim of “ready reference” and quick access to information. With this aim in mind, the following strategies have been implemented:

  • The number of categories is kept within manageable limits. Specifically, all categories are viewable at a standard screen resolution. Most QRCs have less than 40 categories.
  • Consistency in grammar – direct order entry, plural where appropriate
  • Alternative headings have not been used as it just makes the recognition of the preferred headings that much harder

4. Resource selection

To ensure quick access to information, the following strategies are adopted:

  • A maximum of around 10 items per category
  • Subject and “How-to” guides may be included, but they should not be the only choice, i.e. clicking on the category shouldn't take you to a guide. The electronic resources listed in a guide may be candidates for inclusion in the list.
  • Subscription-based material should be included provided that access is not too convoluted. For the QRC, much of the material is “free”, although for some categories, some of the important material is subscription-based. Such material is suitably signposted, e.g. UQ only.

5. Management Issues

Like any other collection, the Library's Quick Reference Collection is dynamic. The categories need to be periodically re-assessed in a structured manner. To this end, responsibility for the management of the QRC is with the Information Literacy Advisory Group.

The QRC is underpinned by a backend database. This offers many benefits, including automatic generation of web pages and streamlined link checking. Specifically:

  • All QRC resources are catalogued, including the assignment of QRC categories and summaries
  • The records are extracted from the catalogue based on the QRC categories
  • The records are loaded (weekly or on-demand) to the QRC database and the web pages automated generated in batch-mode
  • Where a category has subsets, the subsets are displayed on a single page, suitably labelled and with “Go to” links to the appropriate subset
  • There are no “See also” references – the QRC list is sufficiently short
  • The links are checked weekly as part of normal catalogue maintenance
  • Request for changes go to eresources@library.uq.edu.au
 
¹ Harrod, L.M. Harrod's librarians' glossary : 9,000 terms used in information management, library science, publishing, the book trades and archive management / compiled by Ray Prytherch. Aldershot, England : Gower, 1995; p. 541
² Landau, T. Encyclopaedia of Librarianship. London : Bowes & Bowes, [1966] p. 538
 
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