Discusses the current state of academic reference services from a library administrator's point of view. Highlights include statistics that show a lack of quality reference service that meets users' needs; a decline in the demand for reference services; the role of technology; and changing attitudes about education, including increasing…

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…

Reviews the factors that tend to limit youth services budgets in public libraries, and discusses the need to collect relevant data on the use of libraries by children and adolescents to justify financial support of youth services. Strategies for collecting such data are outlined and appropriate resource allocation is discussed. (CLB)

Discussion of planning for reference service focuses on assessing past practices and statistics of past use to help plan for the future. Topics addressed include identifying an organizational goal and staff training, including professionals and nonprofessionals. (Contains 13 references.) (LRW)

Summarizes speeches from a debate about the future of reference librarians. Highlights include a decline in traditional reference statistics; the growth of commercial online reference services; attempts to move traditional services to the Web; and users' needs for librarians to help them find authoritative, unbiased, free information. (LRW)

This report documents the findings and recommendations of a study conducted by the New Jersey Library Protocol Committee, which was formed to study and recommend changes in the current organizational and operational structure of the existing statewide multitype library network and in the patterns for networking and informational services among…

Presents a study of Archimedes as a HyperCard reference tool at the University of Michigan, and compares uses to similar projects. Results from studied points (i.e., system design and use statistics) support Archimedes: the system sees more use during reference hours when a librarian is unavailable, and user time is comparable to time spent with a…

Describes a survey which examined local government documentation in academic and public libraries of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The results, which provide current data on document management and maintenance practices, are compared with the results of four previous studies. (Author/CLB)