The Reference Roller Coaster
November 2009
Reference works serve as a go-to resource, a jumping-off point, a sure foundation for research. Though an exact definition remains elusive, most people think of dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies, and the like--titles that fit Bill Katz's definition of resources that "one looks to for answers rather than involved reading" (The Publishing and Review of Reference Sources, 1987). Over the years reference books have jostled for position, with newcomers periodically displacing standbys. Choice is 45 years old, and, not surprisingly, a quick look at the 1964 magazine and then at current titles in OCLC reveals titles that have vanished (e.g., Stevenson's Victorian Fiction) and others that have survived (Famous First Facts).
For researchers, print reference works once had the final say. They've got digital competition now, and, increasingly, are described in Choice reviews as "difficult to justify." Indeed the electronic format is well suited to material that, after all, one does not usually read straight through. And, although online searching options eliminate the need for alphabetical, topical, and chronological methods, many online reference works still have a reassuring familiarity. The field is crowded, however, with novices that offer quick information fixes but lack familiar organizational schemes. In our daily editorial work, Choice editors keep some print volumes as close companions and also rely on sources such as the electronic version of Merriam Webster Unabridged. But we've used the verb "google" for a while (will it soon be "bing"?).
Choice published its first reviews of Web sites in 1997. A peek at the (admittedly amorphous) General Reference section reveals that the total number of print and nonprint reviews in this category has decreased significantly (92 in calendar year 2008 versus 168 in 1997, if one extrapolates from the last four issues of the year). However, the number of Web reviews in General Reference has more than quadrupled (71 in 2008 versus 15 in the 1997 Web supplement). Even though not all important reference resources are digitally available, going online is now the sine qua non for most researchers. And whether print or electronic, the best reference works are still described by Choice reviewers in terminology that echoes 1964 reviews--"authoritative," "comprehensive," "lucidly written," "well researched," "of indisputable authority," and "meeting the highest standards."
Lately Choice's reviews have started to reflect librarians' electronic wish lists, e.g., for multiple reference works in a single database, and for platforms that integrate various publishers' offerings. And the wish lists will continue to lengthen, reflecting a demand for electronic reference works that are continuously updated, incorporate intuitive search-and-discover features, offer Web 2.0 features and multimedia, are downloadable to handheld devices, and more. The future? How about a database that can read my mind, tell me what I want to know, and (most importantly) embed it in my long-term memory? I'll leave that to others. Meanwhile I'll continue to enjoy the best of both worlds, using my favorite online databases and print resources, and occasionally celebrating some fine resources of the past. This year I'll raise a glass to a longtime favorite, now out of print--Frank Schoonmaker's Encyclopedia of Wine--like Choice, first published in 1964, and still compelling.--CW
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