The Portable Librarian'' concept consists of a reference librarian who goes from place to place throughout the library building offering assistance to the timorous'' and the confused.'' (NH)

Society judges the accountability and dependability of librarians and libraries. Reference librarians must collect and use as many facts as possible in measuring services. (KP)

The value of the verification of requests for periodical articles as recommended by the Interlibrary Loan Procedure Manual'' is brought to issue. (1 reference) (Author/NH)

This description of Info Trac, a laser disc periodical reference system, reviews professional reactions to the system and several user studies. Criticisms are discussed to define the role of such systems in research libraries, and data are presented in five tables. (17 references) (MES)

Cost benefit accounting is not being used in academic reference libraries today but administrators are beginning to require quantitative evaluation of services provided. Several systems are described and evaluated. (35 references) (DH)

This study of the online catalog at a large academic library focuses on the nature of problems for which users seek librarians' assistance. Characteristics of users, types of searches, kinds of problems, the effect of prior experience with the system, and user suggestions for improving the system are examined. (10 references) (Author/MES)

Patron use of periodical indexes was studied by interviewing patrons on random basis as they used periodical and newspaper indexes. A questionnaire was designed to gather information on citation elements, how patrons locate magazines in library, and how they use university's serials holdings list. Seven references and questionnaire are appended.…

Discusses the controversy over whether or not libraries should charge fees for online bibliographic services, reviews the evidence for imposing fees, for maintaining free services, and outlines the relevance of certain sections of the United States Code to decisions concerning the provision of information. Twenty-four references are included. (JL)

Includes articles on the use of online databases for historical research, machine readable data sources for historical research, the librarian-historian interface in reference service, and a sampler of databases for searches in history as well as a selected list of guides to history databases and data archives. (JL)

Describes results of a survey of members of the Association of Research Libraries that was conducted to determine what procedures are followed to obtain current reference books in foreign languages and to assess the libraries' satisfaction with those procedures. Standing order plans are discussed, and proposals to improve reviewing sources are…

Describes results of a survey of heads of interlibrary loan at Association of Research Libraries (ARL) academic libraries that was conducted in 1988. Highlights include location; personnel organization; staffing patterns, including librarians, nonprofessionals, and student assistants; and services offered, including document delivery and the use…

Examines the commitment to bibliographic instruction in academic research libraries by comparing the existing instructional practices, clienteles, staff involvement, and support structure in those libraries having bibliographic instruction coordinators with those in which the instructional programs are still managed directly by reference…

Presents the results of a survey of academic libraries belonging to the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) concerning the availability and accessibility of OCLC (via dedicated or dial access terminals) for use by reference personnel. The methodology of the survey is described and data are presented in five tables. (JL)

The creative researchers may find that one of the more intriguing aspects in his involvement with research tools is to examine them in a way, or for a purpose, for which they were not originally intended. (MF)

Describes a survey that profiles faculty use and perceptions of the academic library and identifies specific predictors of faculty perceptions of library performance. Differences by rank and academic area are highlighted, and then used to develop action plans for overall liaison programs and for individual liaisons between libraries and…