Describes changes in reference services in academic libraries prompted by new electronic formats and services. Four main areas are discussed: (1) changes in the philosophy of reference services and the types of reference services offered; (2) accessing reference services, including greater direct access by patrons; (3) physical configurations of…

The need for timely, accurate, and locally relevant career information has been escalating. Within the last 15 years, computer-based systems have been developed that put occupational descriptions, labor market information, plus education, training, and financial aid information into formats usable by students and adults in school and nonschool…

The role of public services librarians in collection development is examined in light of changes being brought to libraries by finances, cooperation, and information access. Highlights include situation in academic and special libraries, attributes of successful reference librarians and choices affecting collection developing, collection…

A team of library and computing staff was used to develop an Internet training program at the University of Limerick (Ireland). Its objectives were to present the Internet as both an information source and publishing medium, and to train faculty and staff in the effective use of these applications. The team adopted an iterative approach to the…

Traditional reference service at the Creighton University Health Sciences Library/Learning Resources Center has been transformed into a vibrant, information dissemination system. Maintaining routine reference skills and developing new ones is standard practice. The furious pace of demand for information, and the growing "technicalness"…

This 16-item questionnaire was sent to 142 selected college and university libraries in February 1987 to determine which library skills academic librarians consider desirable for undergraduate students. Questionnaires were returned by 89 respondents (62.7%). The number of respondents for each question and the titles of the resources cited in their…

Until 1972, library services in Salt Lake County consisted of a group of branch libraries with nearly identical collections for recreational reading. Because the needs of the community had become more complex, a new regional library was built to coordinate library operations and establish new services. Among the innovations in public library…

To more adequately provide for newly perceived user needs, New York State libraries have adopted the philosophy of regionalism through which public, academic, and special libraries can cooperate and share resources. The state's 22 public library systems and 9 3R regions (Reference and Research Library Resources Councils) are organized…

For the past two decades the central Information Retrieval Services of the Max Planck Society has been providing database searches for scientists in Max Planck Institutes and Research Groups throughout Germany. As a supplement to traditional search services offered by professional intermediaries, they have recently fostered the introduction of a…

Five papers discuss topics related to the USMARC Community Information Format (CIF), including using CIF to create a public service resource network; development of a CIF-based database of materials relating to multicultural and differently-abled populations; background on CIF; development of an information and referral database; and CIF and…

This paper outlines the use of computer resources to conduct a literature search. While the phrase "computer archives" can refer to all computerized materials, for this discussion it is limited to textual information available online. Both commercial online services and organizations on the Internet offer files to search and download. In addition,…

The widespread implementation of search protocols, primarily Z39.50, in combination with the spread of the World Wide Web makes possible a high degree of integration and standardization of search services. This paper describes a project which seeks to combine in a seamless fashion the searching of periodical indexes and library OPACs with document…

This descriptive study examines how the proliferation of electronic hook-ups to remote locations, to databases, and particularly to electronic mail (e-mail), is changing the work, communication patterns and self-image of higher education faculty. In particular the study examined whether technological acquisition had an impact on professors'…

Papers on Third World academic, research, and medical libraries and their role in scientific and technical information transfer, which were presented at the 1983 UNESCO/IFLA (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization/International Federation of Library Associations) seminar, include: (1) "Development of Effective…

Four speeches are presented, each of which deals with the use of conputers to organize and retrieve news stories. The first speech relates in detail the step-by-step process devised by the "Free Press" in Detroit to analyze, categorize, code, film, process, and retrieve news stories through the use of the electronic film retrieval…