Reference E-Books: The Other Hidden Collection

Abstract

Traditional print reference collections have been reduced significantly over the past few years, as the preference for and the availability of electronic resources have increased. Librarians at the University of Kansas are concerned that the growing numbers of reference e-books in the collection are underutilized. There is a clear need to promote these resources to both library reference staff and users who are unaware of the numerous reference titles purchased individually or contained in electronic packages, such as Credo Reference. Although records for individual titles, from online reference collections and those purchased separately, are loaded into the online catalog, there is currently no easy way to browse the electronic reference collection.