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Electronic Highways
Ready reference to the rescue
The UB Libraries recently revamped its Web site's collection of what we librarians call "ready reference" tools—the reference sources we use to answer quick, fact-based questions that come our way at reference desks via telephone calls, submitted by e-mail or instant messaging. (These options are outlined on our "Ask Us Page" at http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/help/contact.html.) To consult the collection directly, without the assistance of a librarian, either use the main UBLib homepage http://ublib.buffalo.edu and select "Web Reference Sources" or go directly to http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/selected.html.
All the links in the Web Reference Sources collection are selected by UB librarians. Some of the sources are licensed for the sole use of current UB students, faculty and staff; most others are available for use by all information seekers. Because the Web is vast, we provide links to two other "librarian selected" ready reference collections: The Librarians' Index to the Internet http://lii.org located in California and the Internet Public Library http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref00.00.00 based in Michigan.
Using UB's Web Reference Sources collection is easy. You can browse by category: "Almanacs & Quick Facts," "Associations & Societies," "Awards & Prizes," "Countries, States & Cities," "Dictionaries & Languages," "Encyclopedias," "Maps & Gazetteers," "Opinion Polls & Surveys," "Quotations," "Statistical Sites," "Telephone & Zip Directories," etc. You also can peruse all the titles by using the "Display all Sources" link. There you'll find reference tools such as:
All that JAS: Journal Abbreviation Sources
The American Heritage Book of English Usage
Artcyclopedia
Behind the Name (to find the meaning of first names)
Distinguished Women of Past & Present
Facts.com (UB only)
Flags of the World
Forms of Address
Numismatics: Coin & Paper Money
Occupational Outlook Handbook
Online Citation Styles
Public Opinion Online (UB only)
Radio-Locator
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus
State & Local Government on the Net
Statistical Abstract of the United States
WNY Human Resources Directory
World Climate: Weather, Rainfall & Temperature Data
The Web Reference Sources collection also pulls together links related to identifying and locating dissertations and theses (always a bit of a challenge), finding ranking information for colleges and universities (we all distrust such ratings, but read them anyway) and obtaining the text of famous speeches (for example, Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech is often requested at UB reference desks). And for those students who are trying to find an interesting term paper topic, there are reference tools that list "Controversial Issues" worthy of consideration.
—Gemma DeVinney, University Libraries