"Statistics gathered by the American Library Association document that the nation's reference librarians answer 295,000,000 questions annually. Standing in line single file, those seeking answers would stretch from coast to coast. The reference librarian, the backbone of user centered services, is the one who ensures that all who seek information to enrich their lives will find an advocate in their quest."

-Dr. Betty Turock

Information Resources in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Library and Information Science Program- Rutgers University

Through this course I discovered countless reference tools that I never knew existed. It reaffirmed my passion for academic reference librarianship and made me committed to promoting print resources. I explored the major disciplines in the humanities and social sciences by investigating and assessing their central sources. During lectures, I learned the theoretical foundations of these disciplines. Through these experiences, I created positive associations with the tools and disciplines that I will use to provide reference instruction in an academic library.

Instructor: Mary George, a reference librarian at Princeton University, brought everything to the most practical level and showed us how these tools apply to the academic library.

Disciplines: Philosophy, Religion, History, Language & Linguistics, Literature, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Political Science, Geography, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Education and Communications.

Assignments: This Course involved two categories of assignments:

Reference Questions: I produced 100 reference cards representing the questions that I developed from assessing the tools of the 14 disciplines. View examples of the tools and questions.

Discipline Profiles: I explored two disciplines in great depth and created profiles that will serve as resources to guide students through these fields:

American Intellectual History of the 20th Century

Child Psychology

 

LIS Course Description