Outreach programs remain essential in fostering the use of library collections and services. A review of one hundred seventy-four papers on academic library outreach from 2008 to January 2019 highlighted the popularity of these programs during this period as well as the identification of five themes. These themes point to the importance of library…

This article enumerates factors which created demand for fee-based information service (commercial databases, competition for proprietary information in business world, effectiveness of librarians) and relates experiences at two public libraries. Sources of business, value of advertising, techniques of selling, and hiring and deployment of staff…

Discusses measurement and evaluation as ways to justify reference work to users and library administration. A trivia contest is cited as a way to achieve public recognition, and measuring use of reference materials rather than the number of reference questions is recommended. User surveys and other measures of reference activity and value are also…

Introduces four models of data library development for meeting information needs for machine-readable data files--University of Florida facility, University of British Columbia Data Library, Data and Program Library Service at University of Wisconsin, and online numeric Kentucky Economic Information System at University of Kentucky. Four…

Presents a model that can accommodate staff preferences when determining a reference desk schedule using a microcomputer, the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software, and the linear programing software LP83. (eight references) (MES)

Describes the functions and characteristics of the microcomputer and discusses library applications including cataloging, circulation, acquisitions, serials control, reference and database systems, administration, current and future trends, and computers as media. Twenty references are listed. (CHC)

Discussion of the use of CD-ROMs in academic library reference departments focuses on types of instruction librarians can offer and their possible impact on other reference services. Classroom instruction versus point-of-use instruction is compared, and implications for librarians and library management are considered. (Contains 23 references.)…

In May 1981 the American Library Association (ALA) conducted a survey to determine how online search services are financed in publicly-supported libraries and in libraries in nonprofit organizations. The survey questionnaire was prepared by the ALA Office for Research (OFR), and three vendors of online services--BRS, Lockheed, and SDC--mailed the…

Discusses issues that managers of academic library electronic reference services are facing. Topics discussed include the quantity of mediated searches; organizational changes, i.e., who electronic services staff report to; management by committee; administrative options; changing job responsibilities of searchers and other staff members, both…

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.…

Current trends in public library reference service include use of online systems; budget constraints in public sector; increased service; use, training, and supervision of paraprofessionals; centralized organization of reference service; participation in management of reference services; and more realistic attempts at measurement and evaluation of…

"Library Journal" issues (1910, 1920) were examined to identify professional concerns having curricular impact on library education: management, public service, technical service, book sciences, Americanization. Six major educational concerns are discussed: role of on-the-job training; specialization; certification; leadership role of…

The new roles that reference librarians are being asked to play require that reference librarians should be given clear budgetary and programmatic authority; placed closer to the top of the organization; relieved of nonprofessional tasks; brought out of isolated departments; allowed to plan services and set priorities. (Contains 56 references.)…

Seven articles on library reference services highlight reference obsolescence in academic libraries, major studies of unobtrusive reference tests, methods for evaluating reference desk performance, reference interview evaluation, problems of reference desk control, online searching by end users, and reference collection development in…

Examines major issues and trends in serials management represented in the literature published during 1990. Topics covered include the pricing crisis; publishing and scholarly communication; cancellation projects; technological developments and alternatives to print; claiming and replacement activities; acquisitions and collection development;…