Four hundred eighty-seven citations of the 1976 issues of the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and the Personnel and Guidance Journal were checked for accuracy: total error was 13.6 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively. Error categories included incorrect author name, article/book title, journal title; wrong entry; and…

A study of the use of the OCLC interlibrary loan subsystem revealed that nearly two weeks elapse between the entry of a request into the subsystem and receipt of the item. Comparison with other studies shows little change since 1979. (Author/EM)

A survey of 34 of the largest public library systems, each serving at least 500,000 people, showed: (1) minority offer online database services; (2) cost is major prohibiting factor; (3) New York Times Information Bank is most popular database; (4) fee structures vary; and (5) business organizations are most frequent users. (JD)

A multiple-choice pretest, given to 113 biology and 58 health education college students, measured their knowledge (before library instruction) of specific information sources required to complete course assignments. Mixed tabulated results show that prior instruction, in a class or tour of the library, did not guarantee higher mean scores. (JD)

This new column discusses the need for gaining administrative and academic support for library instruction programs to improve "library literacy," i.e., the learning of the basic skills for finding information, and summarizes the findings of a five-year experiment at the University of Colorado to improve/increase faculty and student…

Discusses the results of an analysis of the reference process in which behavioral outcomes were distinguished from the causal factors that inhibit the delivery of reference service. Data on reference services in 16 libraries are analyzed and presented in five figures and three tables. A 26-item reference list is included. (JL)

Provides background on concept mapping and discusses concept maps drawn by library science graduate students in a reference and information services course. Applications of concept mapping of significance to librarians--in reference service, instruction, and research--are considered. Several sample concept maps are included. (19 references) (MES)

Reviews research and writing on reference services in archives. Topics discussed include user studies of archives; the accuracy and efficiency of archival reference; the impact of technology on research in archives; interaction between researchers and reference archivists; and research needs in archival reference. (48 references) (LRW)

Describes in detail the Library and Research Consultations (LaRC) program for graduate students offered at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Copies of the program's brochure and questionnaire are provided, and preliminary evaluative data are tabulated. (JD)

Summarizes the results of 11 selected studies of the accuracy of reference services and identifies six modes of failure of reference services. Methods of detecting and reducing failure in each of these modes are then discussed. (17 references) (MES)

Reviews the literature on library use of facsimile transmission and describes an experiment conducted by libraries at the four State University of New York campuses that used facsimile transmission and/or electronic mail to access commonly held periodical titles. Copies of the request form and problem report form are appended. (Contains 29…

Provides a definition of reference books based on their organizational structure and describes an empirical study which was conducted in three libraries to identify types of book organization and determine their frequency in reference departments and stack collections. The data are analyzed and shown to support the definition. (EM)

Academic librarians in Illinois were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward and recordkeeping practices for online searches. Findings indicate that confidentiality is considered to be as important for online searches as for circulation records, but that recordkeeping practices and attitudes toward subject and client disclosure do not assume…

Users of a search/document delivery service in a large engineering firm were surveyed to determine the amount and relevancy of information received, time saved by using the service, dollar value of information received, number of employees using or seeing the information, and any improvement in the firm's competitive position. (EM)

Describes a study that electronically monitored 11 public access terminals at the University of Colorado libraries to produce transaction logs that were used to gather statistics and analyze users' behavior when searching online catalogs. Implications for search instruction and systems design are suggested. (Contains 13 references.) (LRW)