Bob Duckett
Bob Duckett recently retired as Reference Librarian of Bradford City Libraries. He was previously Subject Adviser (Social Sciences) there. Before Bradford, Bob worked at Birmingham Reference Library and the University College of North Wales (as a cataloguer). He is co-author with Christinea Donnelly and Peter Walker of Know It All; Find It Fast: An A-Z Source Guide for the Enquiry Desk published by Facet Publishing, 2002; 3rd ed 2008.
Articles by Bob Duckett:
Reference Desk: Tips on Using Your Wits
Wednesday, 24th June 2009
The best training in the world may not always be enough when you're staffing a reference desk that serves the general public. From contextualizing to active listening to polite deflecting, Bob Duckett draws on his years of experience to provide tips for handling the wide range of questions that land at the public reference desk.
Reference Desk: Tips on Using Your Wits [ABSTRACT]
Wednesday, 24th June 2009
The best training in the world may not always be enough when you're staffing a reference desk that serves the general public. From contextualizing to active listening to polite deflecting, Bob Duckett draws on his years of experience to provide tips for handling the wide range of questions that land at the public reference desk.
Register for our next Community session:
![]()
AI use cases in information management
22nd September 2026
Latest on our YouTube channel:![]()
Read on the Blog:
September 2026 update
2nd September 2026
- Take our poll on AI use cases
8th September 2026 - September 2026 update
2nd September 2026 - All recent Subscription content
25th August 2026
- Jinfo Community session (TBC) (Community) 15th December 2026
- Jinfo Community session (TBC) (Community) 19th November 2026
- From AI use cases to implementation (Community) 22nd October 2026