Basic Library Skills, 5th ed.

This brand new edition of Wolf’s acclaimed work provides a self-contained, short course in essential library skills for patrons of college, high school and public libraries. The intent is to provide a quick and easy way to learn to do library research. The exercises contained herein give students hands-on experience by applying rules stated in the text to situations that approach real “research problems.”
Subjects addressed include a brief tour of the library; card catalogs and cataloging systems; filing rules; online public access catalogs; subject searching; bibliographies; book reviews and parts of a book; dictionaries; encyclopedias; handbooks; atlases; gazetteers; periodicals; newspapers; online database searching and reference sources; literature and criticism; e-books; government information and government documents; biographies; business, career and consumer information; non-print materials and special services; online computer use in libraries and schools; and hints for writing term papers.
Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Carolyn Wolf is professor emeritus of Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. Currently a reference librarian at Francis T. Bourne Jacaranda Public Library, she lives in Venice, Florida.

Carolyn Wolf
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 216
Bibliographic Info: 87 photos, appendix, index
Copyright Date: 2006
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2635-5
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5161-6
Imprint: McFarland

Preface and Acknowledgments     vii

Introduction: A Brief Historical Perspective     1

1 A Walking Tour of the Library     5

2. The Catalog and Cataloging Systems      15

3. Online Public Access Catalogs      29

4. Subject Headings      43

5. Bibliography      51

6. Book Reviews and the Parts of a Book      65

7. General Information Sources      71

8. Periodicals and Newspapers      85

9. Online Database Searching and Reference Sources      103

10. Literature and Criticism      111

11. E-Books      123

12. Government Information and Government Documents      127

13. Biography      149

14. Business, Career and Consumer Information      161

15. Nonprint Materials and Special Services     171

16. Online Computer Use in Libraries and Schools      177

17. Hints for Writing Term Papers      183

Appendix: Answers to Exercises      191

Index      197

“will be of great value…an excellent job”—VOYA; “thoroughly written and illustrated…a welcome update…solid”—ARBA; “a powerful schematic and hands-on guidebook…excellent…helpful”—Public Libraries; “a ready-made course on library instruction for patrons of college, high school, and public libraries”—American Libraries; “a new edition of a classic library manual of essential library skills”—The Book Report; “useful…easy to understand language”—Reference & User Services Quarterly.