Abstract:
The main purpose of this thesis was to study the operation of reference books in the secondary school libraries, educational region 9, concerning affected elements such as the numbers, types and ages of reference books; the budget allotted; and librarians who managed the collection. It is hoped that this thesis would help as guidelines for librarians to improve their works on reference management in their school libraries. The surveyed questionnaires, including the list of reference titles, were mailed to 33 secondary school librarians representing the whole population in the educational region 9. Twenty-seven Completed (81.82%) questionnaires were returned to the researcher. The data were analyzed in percentage and through the use of Chi-Square (X²) for relationship testing. Results : 1. The number of reference books in school libraries were related to the size of school and users. 2. The number of reference books in the school libraries were related to the budget the libraries received. 3. The content of reference books was related to the learning programmes in schools. 4. Only few school libraries owned approximately half of the titles included in the recommending list prepared. 5. The librarians qualification, experiences and status had no effects on the effectiveness of the operation of reference books in the secondary school libraries of the educational region 9. Recommendations : 1. The administrators and school administrative committee should provide more budget allocation in order that the school librarians can increase their number of reference books of all kinds. 2. The school librarians should teach the use of reference books in the libraries to the users so they can use reference books more efficiently. 3. Reference books buying aids should be prepared by those who concerned, such as teachers who teach reference courses in library schools, the library supervisor group of the Ministry of Education or the Thai Library Association, to help rural school librarians in their acquisition of reference tools. 4. School librarians should co-operate in the selecting and evaluating procedures in order to acquire the best possible reference titles suitable to local needs. 5. Librarians should always review their reference collection to make sure that they are up-to-date and related to the learning programmers in schools. 6. Librarians should in every way provide for better users accessibility to the collection. 7. Librarians should plan for closer cooperation in their plans on reference books evaluation and resources-sharing. Thus, small school libraries will be able to expand their collections and better their services.