Advancing library services in large universities requires creative approaches for "building to scale." This is the case for CIC, Committee on Institutional Cooperation (Big Ten), libraries whose home institutions serve thousands of students, faculty, staff, and others. Developing virtual Web-based services is an increasingly viable…

Traces the development of a new library/information center at the headquarters of the Aluminum Association, Inc., from the original idea through the first year's activities and accomplishments. Topics addressed include setting priorities, budgeting, establishing services, and selecting a computer based management system. Special library standards…

Discusses limitations and possibilities of the service quality model, originally developed in a commercial environment, for academic libraries. Examines ways in which the model can be adapted to library reference services, access services, document delivery, and collection development. (62 references) (Author/AEF)

Describes the activities of each unit of the Department of Education's Educational Information Resources Division, including ERIC; Research Libraries Branch; Information Technology Branch; and Technology Resources Center. A discussion of the need for a coordinated approach to information services provision uses the National Library of Agriculture…

It is vital that librarians know the assumptions and principles of information-seeking behavior, make observations of themselves and users, and analyze failed reference interactions. They can make the human factor a strength rather than a limitation in the seeking and sharing of information. (Author/JMV)

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.…

This study addresses the problem of Internet information services having to meet the increasing information demands of users in the dynamic Internet environment. The purpose of this research was to use K-12 digital reference services as a starting point to better understand the process of building and maintaining Internet information services. The…

Thirteen articles comprise this issue on reference and information services: (1) "Librarianship as Information Resources Management," by Bettina H. Wolff; (2) one librarian's views on misinformation, disinformation, and information overload, by Murray Bob; (3-6) descriptions of reference and information services at the John Jay College…

The basics of online searching for bibliographic citations are presented through use of the "Economic Literature Index" (ELI), which is available as File 139 on Dialog Information Services. This article focuses on the choice of media for bibliographic searches, search strategies, and the selection of alternative databases, such as…

In 1971 the Board of the Midwestern Regional Library System authorized a study of the periodical collections of the major public libraries, the three universities, and one community college within the Region. It was felt that the study would have immediate implications for the Regional library's developing "Information Services Program,"…

This compilation of proceedings and documents from the Bay Area Reference Center Workshop on Information and Referral, held in September 1976, Contains information pertaining to: (1) personal style of the reference librarian, (2) initiating and maintaining an Information and Referral Resource File, (3) interagency cooperation on human service…

Describes the organizational structure of the research unit of the Parliamentary Library of Canada and lists a variety of services offered to Parliamentary members, committees, associations, and delegations. (CLB)

Describes the VECM (Vocational Education Curriculum Materials) database and how it can help solve curriculum problems. Elements of this database are discussed: ease of entry and retrieval of information, how information is coded, equipment needed to gain entry, how to use the database, uniqueness of the database, and membership information. (CT)

Since public libraries contain copyrighted works in the form of print, electronic or audiovisual sources, librarians and library paraprofessionals need to possess sufficient knowledge of United States copyright law to meet the information needs of patrons successfully and legally. A literature review revealed that minimal works address this topic.…

The concept of digital reference is emerging as its own domain within the field of librarianship. This digest discusses issues that have surfaced recently in practice and research: provision of real-time reference service, collaborative efforts among networks of libraries and organizations, and development of quality and technical standards. Many…