Dealing with unaffiliated distance learning students can be a daunting task for many public as well as academic librarians. This article will discuss strategies for providing reference to these students by gathering information on what services they are offered via their home institutions, and helping them navigate the often confusing landscape of…

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of an online course for public librarians on helping patrons reduce saturated fat. Design: Pre- and posttest design along with a 6-month follow-up survey. Setting: Online nutrition course. Participants: 100 (8 males, 92 females) completed the course, and 29 completed the follow-up survey. Intervention:…

Presents standards for reference services developed by the Suburban Library System (Illinois) and discusses the effects of the standards on youth services. Standards for a written reference plan, reference staff, reference sources, and evaluation are included. (11 references) (MES)

Describes the Tacoma Public Library's experience with "BIP Plus," the CD-ROM version of Books in Print. Memory requirements, search capabilities, automatic ordering, and the library staff's response are discussed. Keyword searching is explained as the system's most used feature, and price the area of most serious concern. (EM)

Evaluates the database program SAVVY PC and describes its use in a public library reference department to index a local newspaper. The basic structure of SAVVY and FORTH, the language it's written in, are explained along with how the database is used. Advantages and disadvantages of the system are discussed. (EM)

Virtual reference services seem a natural extension of libraries digital collections and the emphasis on access to the library anytime, anywhere. If patrons use the library from home, it makes sense to provide them with person-to-person online reference. The Library of Congress (LC), OCLC, and several large library systems have developed and…

Florida's Ask a Librarian service (http://www.askalibrarian.org) brings virtual reference to users at their moment of need via the Internet. Ask a Librarian is a growing service with 76 participating libraries including public, school, four-year, and community college libraries. The following article describes how Ask a Librarian was developed…

Discussion of implications of highly decentralized nature of local government for collection of local documents highlights meaning of access, effect of local government environment on access to local government information, library responses, and tools that can assist libraries in increasing citizen and government access to local government…

This guide to adult reference works and services for the small or medium-sized public library is divided into two sections. Section One lists 559 numbered items arranged in 22 subsections, and 222 additional items in notes following entries or at the end of the relevant subsection. Subject areas are as follows: guides and bibliographies; general…

A new library in San Jose opened on August 1, 2003. This library is the result of a unique collaboration between San Jose State University Library and the San Jose Public Library. The planning for this new library highlighted merging several key areas of operation, including Government Publications. Several years before the two libraries merged,…

From scholarly discourse to the latest issues in readers' advisory services, this guide provides up-to-date information on the many challenges of the practice, as well as on interdisciplinary directions, continuing education, and the gap in graduate professional education for readers' advisory. The book's 16 chapters are organized into three main…

In order to teach high school students to transfer skills learned in school media centers to public libraries, public librarians visit classes whose students have been assigned term papers. They present information on reference materials students will need to complete their assignments, including those not available in most media centers. (EM)

This guidebook and annotated bibliography is designed to provide a basic listing of sources of state (Maryland), federal, and some general law for the non-law library community, and to offer some insight into the suggested approaches for dealing with legal reference inquiries. Listings of contributors and members of the Task Force on Improving…

An urban public library responds to an invitation from the local Fire and Rescue Services Department to make suggestions for improving communication between the library and the County Emergency Management Program. Recommendations are made for library involvement in long-term prevention, preparedness to respond, response to emergencies, and…

Briefly describes fundamental problems with library reference service based on the findings of 20 separate studies using unobtrusive tests. An emphasis on quality of service, realistic goals, and effective managerial strategies are identified as possible resolutions of these problems. (CLB)