I do reference acquisition for the Ferndale youth department (excluding the YA collection) and we buy an entire World Book set every other year. The newest set is kept behind the desk and doesn't circulate, and the set from two years ago is shelved with nonfiction and does circulate (and indeed does get checked out). When we rotate a set out entirely there is usually a librarian at one of the public schools who would like it. Other books, such as dictionaries, we replace as-needed. Ours is an extremely small reference section (two small shelves behind the desk) but it does get used, and anecdotally I'm actually seeing an increase in our World Book usage both among kids and adults as the internet becomes less reliable and everyone is tired of screens.

Mary Grahame Hunter

Ferndale Area District Library

Youth Services librarian

Juvenile nonfiction, juvenile international, and parent/teacher selector

248-548-2504 x699

On Fri, May 8, 2026 at 10:25 AM Barbara Beaton via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org> wrote:

We dismantled our reference collection several years ago. We transferred some items to circulating and withdrew most of the rest. There is a small 'ready ref' collection at the reference desk which I'm also thinking of dismantling as we almost never use it.

And yes, we would rely on the MEL E-Resources for any reference type of materials along with easily findable on credible online sources. (And yes, credible online sources may become a casualty of AI, but let's not let that ruin our Friday).

Barbara

Barbara Beaton

Assistant Director/Reference Librarian

Milan Public Library

Milan, MI 48160

734-439-1240

www.milanlibrary.org

she/her

From: Tahquamenon Library Director via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org>
Sent: Friday, May 8, 2026 9:48 AM
To: michlib-l@liblists.org <michlib-l@liblists.org>
Subject: [Michlib-l] Encyclopedias/Reference Materials?

Hello Librarians,

These questions are aimed more towards the various school-public libraries, but could be applicable to everyone:

How often do you modernize your reference sections?

Is it on a rolling basis, or an all-at-once deal?

How broad of a reference section do you maintain?

Do Mel resources supplement your reference, or have they replaced them?

I would like to structure reference modernization into our acquisitions, but with the prevalence of the internet, we have seen declining use of the resources by our students and public. An attempt at increasing circulation was made some years ago by moving some materials into the non-fiction sections, but that has not helped to a large extent.

Thanks,

Ross

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