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Shared Reference

Oshkosh Public Library, the resource library for the Winnefox Library System, will share reference resources with all Winnefox libraries. Types of reference materials include subject encyclopedias and multiple-volume sets in a variety of areas, such as science, literature, American history, decades, medicine, business, Native Americans, etc.

  • Lists of sample titles in Oshkosh Public Library's reference collection:
  • Oshkosh Public Library will check their collection and send you excerpts.
    If you're looking for information to answer a question, Oshkosh Reference staff will look through their reference collection for you. They can fax or email scanned selections or excerpts from our books. Call 920-236-5205, fax 920-236-5227 or email a request via the AskWisconsin Librarians service on your library's web site. OPL will coordinate with Winnefox Staff (Joy & Michelle) if it's unclear whether the question would be better answered by OPL or Winnefox so that member libraries don't have to "guess" which staff to contact first.
    • If you don't have enough information, or all the titles your library owns are checked out, contact OPL.
    • If a patron needs more materials than you have in your library, contact OPL.
  • Oshkosh Public Library will loan reference materials.
    They can send books via the Winnefox van delivery for in-library use by staff and patrons. This is a good solution when a library temporarily needs more titles.
    • If a teacher assigns a topic to an entire class or lots of students, you can supplement your own collection.
    • If the 3 books you have on a topic are all checked out, you can supplement your own collection.
    • If students need to use 4 different types of resources for a paper or speech, they may be able to count subject encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. as one of the 4 different sources.
    • If you have someone doing in-depth research on a topic, you can supplement your own library's collection.
    • If there's a local history or genealogy question, we may be able to loan titles on a short-term basis. Oshkosh Public Library has excellent genealogy and local history collections, with emphasis on Oshkosh and Winnebago County, but also has some sources for other Winnefox areas.
  • If you've looked on the Web and in Electronic Resources and can't find what you need, Oshkosh Public Library will also search and see if we can find information or suggest search strategies. OPL can assist you with searching the WALS catalog, online databases (including Badgerlink) and Web searches.
  • If you need census data, we can help. We're familiar with finding information on the Web and also have paper copies for many historical periods. OPL is a federal Census depository, state data center contact through the Applied Population Laboratory and receives other federal and state documents for use in answering questions, particularly population-oriented needs.
  • Come observe at the Oshkosh Public Library's reference desk -- for a few hours or for a day!
  • Oshkosh Public Library can provide information and advice to member library staff planning new activities or services related to reference or adult service.
  • OPL is interested in providing programs to member libraries on readers' advisory, genealogy and reference techniques and materials.
  • Oshkosh Public Library can serve as a model/pilot for projects of future interest to member libraries -- such as digitization.
  • OPL serves as a key participant in e-reference projects, such as OCLC's QuestionPoint/AskWisconsin Librarians.

Contact Janice at 920-236-5214 or dibble(at)oshkoshpubliclibrary.org for more information about Shared Reference Opportunities.