I did a quick and dirty analysis of the library science literature (using the LISA database) on some reference concepts to see how they trended. Because many libraries are headed to a central services area called a commons, ours is the Knowledge Commons. Specifically I searched for the phrases “General Reference”, “Subject Library Reference”, and “Commons” and looked for the distribution of each over time. I was somewhat surprised since here at Penn State, general reference predates subject libraries in some form (from what I have heard) that subject library reference trended before general reference. The commons model is obviously the latest trend. What else could I toss in here? What reference concepts have come and gone?
Neither Wikipedia nor Google get any action pre 1999, so there is not much of a way to compare. However it looks like while discussion of Wikipedia is fading in the past 2 years, Google is trending up again after a dip in 2007.
Test “Wikipedia” and “Google” ? Bandage your wrists first, or ask a colleague to remove all sharp objects from the room, first.