Service-learning pedagogies are used in K-12 and higher education to provide students with experiential learning opportunities and foster connections between students, their communities, and the world. Presents comments from librarians across the United States on their experiences with service-learning programs. Suggests strategies for libraries…

Discussion of reference librarians in higher education focuses on experiences at the University of Southern California. Topics include reference costs and time demands; reorganization and cutting costs; merging computer departments with libraries; Internet advantages, including the Internet Public Library; attitudes and creativity of librarians;…

Reports the results of a survey of reference librarians in public and academic libraries that investigated experiences with and attitudes toward the use of digital and networked technologies and resources in reference work. Highlights include a correlation between experiences and positive attitudes; characteristics of librarians; and current and…

This article presents an overview of a research project that was designed as a way to understand the role of Australian academic librarians in internationalising library, university, and higher education practice. In an attempt to discover what it is that librarians actually do, a survey of university librarians was undertaken to find how they…

International and minority students often pose additional challenges due to cultural, linguistic, or socio-economic differences with the mostly white, middle class, highly educated (and predominantly female) public service librarians with whom they come into contact. Such differences can range from minor speech/articulation problems to major…

Examines the extent to which professional catalog librarians in academic libraries are involved in public services activities. Current literature is reviewed, results of a survey begun in 1983 and updated in 1986 and 1988 are analyzed and compared, and new areas in which an expanded role for catalog librarians would be beneficial are suggested.…

Describes telecommunications and networking developments in Australia that provide increased communication and cooperation opportunities for libraries, as well as linkages to international information sources. Staff attitudes, document access and supply, the current situation of Australian academic libraries, and the concept of a distributed…

Interviews with 51 librarians and 40 computer-center administrators at smaller colleges found that they face similar challenges in providing services and seeking economies but are uneasy about formal structural changes that bring their operations closer together. Reasons for their concern and implications for college administration are discussed,…

Reviews the literature on academic library reference service, and examines changes in the traditional reference desk model. Based on the review from the perspectives of managers, librarians, and users, new research directions are proposed in which users' information-search processes and librarians' intervention in reference service are integrated.…

Describes a study at the California State University at Chico library that was conducted to determine the success of the ERIC database on CD-ROM as a retrieval tool. The results of user interviews are summarized, surveys of reference librarians are reviewed, and cost considerations are examined. (three references) (LRW)

Describes an ACRL (American College and Research Libraries) project that utilized the electronic conferencing facility of BITNET to provide a system of mentoring for academic librarians conducting research. Results of an electronic mail survey of participants that examined experience levels, attitudes, problems, and communication patterns are…

This survey of 288 academic, public, and special librarians in Canada examined attitudes toward the role of bibliographic instruction in reference service. Results indicated that academic librarians stress instruction, special librarians stress information delivery, and public librarians fall between the two positions. It was found that…

Reports survey results of user education objectives and practices in New Zealand academic libraries, and makes comparisons to a Canadian study. The New Zealand research explored librarians' attitudes about the relationship between user education and information literacy. Five tables include resources, methods, mean-importance rank, preferred…

Discusses emerging organizational structures of academic libraries and identifies core competencies for academic reference librarians, including a flexible attitude and approach toward technology, a high tolerance for rapid technological change, creativity, curiosity, communication skills, public relations savvy, and the ability to relate…

This qualitative study examined the perceptions that university library faculty members hold regarding the role of the department head in promoting faculty growth and development. Four faculty members at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln were interviewed. Axial coding of the individuals' perceptions revealed six categories of perceived roles for…