Education forInformation 13 (1995) 67-71 lOS Press News from the Schools: The Robert Gordon University Teaching 'reference work' in Aberdeen: a personal perspective Michael C. Head and Rita Marcella The Robert Gordon University, Hilton Place, Aberdeen AB9 I FP, u.K. 67 Abstract. Changes in the teaching of 'reference work' in the U.K. are discussed preliminary to a description of the current situation at the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. The content of both the undergraduate and postgraduate courses are considered, together with an indication of the methods employed in teaching this subject area. The advent of BAILER offers the opportunity for the establishment of a special-interest group. 1. Introduction As members of the relevant subject team, we have been involved on the periphery of some research, currently being undertaken by a student on our Postgraduate Diploma! linked Masters course, into the teaching of 'reference work' in the schools of librarian- ship in the U.K. She found a dearth ofliterature on the subject: what research had been conducted and reported in the professional press was almost exclusively American in origin I and this, together with the fact that her research did not permit the detailed inves- tigation of how courses were taught, prompted the belief that there was scope for a greater exchange of information in this area. This paper is offered, therefore, in the hope that it might provoke a response from colleagues in other schools and thereby provide those of us teaching in this area with a broader perspective. I A brief seach of LISA via Dialog retrieved 40 items on the teaching of reference/information work. Of these, 19 emanated from the U.S.A.; three from each ofIndia and Nigeria; two from Australia; one from each of Brazil, Denmark, Eire, Germany and the Philippines. Six were of indeterminate origin but, given the source, probably related to practice in the U.S.A. Only two related specifically to the U.K. and these dated from 1971 and 1972. This appears to confirm the findings of our student's far more rigorous literature search. The dearth of British material is disappointing, although it must be stressed that much of the above literature would be of interest and/or relevance in a British context. 0167-8329/95/$03.50 © 1995- lOS Press