Resource Review #6: The Bermuda Triangle of Reference Resources

Just over a month ago, Sue Polanka (authoress of the No Shelf Required blog) posted a Credo Reference press release about the variety of titles they added since the release of their new platform last year, thus "raising the standard for how online reference services should work for libraries." Utilizing suggestions from people interested or subscribed to Credo as well as polling academic representatives i.e. librarians and educators, they chose titles that would best serve their user community and highlight interdisciplinary subjects of interest to researchers. Looking at the list and having occasionally perused Credo Reference, I can understand why they are a driving force in online reference service. They've got it all and so can their subscribers, depending on how much they are willing to shell out for their subscription.

The vast amount of reference materials available through Credo continually overwhelms my imagination because I try to visualize how much physical space those resources would require. As a library student who is focusing on archives and works with textiles, my bias veers towards physical objects despite the directional shift of all three fields towards the digital realm. Though I fully utilize and require access to digital resources, my loyalties remain with tangible objects. They are perceptionally stimulating and viscerally engage my attention and imagination. However, they all need a place and space in which to be stored. Which, if any, libraries or repositories would or could offer Credo's titles in tangible form for their patrons to access? Not only that, but how on earth could one simply browse the material or pinpoint exactly what s/he is looking for? Therein lies the rub of the convenience and advantage to online resources: all you have to do is type in what you're looking for and voila! you're presented with every- and anything relevant to those keywords. After that, just pick and choose which results are most appropriate for your information needs.

I have no doubts that tangible reference resources, archival collections, and textile collections will always have a home and caretakers--I plan to become one. However, information has expanded out beyond a physical state and is being bred in the digital arena. It is now common practice that we all search the vast oceans of online information, being propelled by search engines, being navigated by databases with hopes that they recognize our descriptors to find appropriate matches, and trusting someone will be there or offer suggestions to steer us in the right direction if we stray. And as we explore the great beyond containing virtual information resources, the physical resources from which they came slowly disappear and the brick and mortar repositories fade into the background to exist as a fulcrum between the two worlds...