When called upon to aid in filtering through finance and investment information on the Internet, the business librarian is also faced with knowing what is available and how to find it. Web sites are identified that provide information about stocks and their exchanges, mutual funds, bonds, company annual reports, and taxes. (Author/AEF)

Provides an overview of Internet resources relevant to reference work in world history. It also presents URLs to select sites representing different uses of the World Wide Web in presenting information for the subject of World History. (Author)

Discusses how librarians in the new role of "informationist" can help doctors and researches of medical information. Describes existing models of the informationist; potential benefits of working across professional boundaries outside the library; professional requirements; and unresolved issues for the new role, including potential…

Eight articles in this section focus on sports: the baseball mystique and scholarly publishing; importance of archiving sporting activities; museums and libraries partner to make sport history live; online resources for sports information; Webliography of general sports sites; public libraries responding to changing needs; sports fiction; and…

Memorial Hall Library in Andover, Massachusetts wanted to offer live reference service online but with limited resources, they couldn't do it alone. The 24/7 Reference cooperative program administered by the California State Library required Memorial Hall's librarians to monitor only 10 hours a week in return for live reference coverage. Memorial…

Describes services offered by the Center for Electronic Records of the National Archives and Records Administration and discusses electronic communication tools used in its reference services program, including electronic mailing lists, electronic mail, and online descriptive materials and finding aids. Provides an overview of constituency groups…

Reflects on issues raised at the Library of Congress Institute on "Reference Service in a Digital Age." Discusses technology-oriented changes at the Library of Congress; the changing reference service model; collaborative partnerships; staff training; and the role of the reference librarian in the digital environment. (AEF)

Transaction-log data for total, author, title, and subject searches were collected for three semesters at Southeast Missouri State University to ascertain whether total searches, subject searches, and subject percentage of total searches have any predictive value for marshaling personnel resources for reference-desk service. Findings raise…

Examines the growing demand for e-mail reference (Aska) service and how librarians can best manage an electronic help desk. Discusses problems of minimal information and anonymous patrons, followed by views on restricting/not restricting access to the service. Suggests ways to try to screen requests and specify a clientele. Notes the importance of…

Within the U.S., information is a good in the "sphere" of basic welfare and security, and therefore (following Walzer's theory of justice), it should be distributed on the basis of the principle appropriate to the meaning of goods in that sphere-communal provision based on need and not on the basis of the distributive principle…

Suggests that current conditions are nearly ideal for the effective meta-assessment of online reference services (ORS), in part because expected patterns and modes of service have not yet been established for emerging and evolving online environments, and in part because the distance between theory and practice regarding reference service in…

Defines "values" and lists the eight values (stewardship, service, intellectual freedom, rationalism, literacy and learning, equity of access, privacy, democracy) derived by the author in an earlier work. Gives a brief history of the evolution of human-to-human reference service and discusses its future. Relates each of the author's eight values…

Examines how to determine the best model of reference service. Highlights include: libraries and community; components of reference service; inherent values of reference service; conflicting values and models of service; technology and change; new models and old values; and the "right" model of reference service. (AEF)

During the 2000-2001 academic year, the General Libraries of the University at Buffalo conducted a pilot project to assess feasibility of providing reference through instant messaging. Describes the project, its implementation, the software used, staffing issues, and publicity efforts. Discusses results of the project in terms of user…

Discusses reference-use statistics in academic libraries. Highlights include new functions and resources, limits of traditional counting methods, ranking the sources, the Internet's impact on instruction, computer-assisted versus one-on-one instruction, and creative solutions to reference services. (AEF)