The cataloging of otherwise unprocessed collections is an innovative minimal processing technique with important implications for reference service. This article mines the existing literature for how institutions engaged in minimal processing view reference, the strengths and weaknesses of catalog records as finding aids, and information about…

Health professionals frequently do not possess the necessary information-seeking abilities to conduct an effective search in databases and Internet sources. Reference librarians may teach health professionals these information and technology skills through the Big6 information literacy model (Big6). This article aims to address this issue. It also…

This paper will examine the learning needs of millennial students, a generation different from any previous generation, so librarians should adjust their teaching methods to accommodate their needs. Should we, as librarians, consider changing our reference services--the way we present instruction and the materials that we order for the library?…

This article examines what is desirable in online reference books in science and technology and outlines a framework for evaluating their interfaces. The framework considers factors unique to these subject areas like chemical structures and numerical data. Criteria in three categories, navigability, searchability, and results, were applied to five…

Given the many changes in our students and their study and research practices, libraries are finding it necessary to seek new ways to reach these students. The Undergraduate Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign created a new model to do so. Librarian's Office Hours are a hybrid of reference and instructional services that…

Compares three Web-based online reference services that are described as a cross between a traditional database service and a Web search engine: Ask Jeeves (http://www.ask.com), The Electric Library (http://www.elibrary.com), and Information Please (http://www.infoplease.com). Concludes that each has strengths and weaknesses and aren't directly…

Evaluates these two bibliographic databases for geosciences information in terms of their content coverage, search methodologies, user effort, and analysis of results. (SW)

This presentation describes the features of the PRO-SEARCH front-end software package and how they can enhance online searching. The cost savings in terms of decreased connect time and convenience for the inexperienced searcher are discussed. The relationship between the quality of reference services and the effectiveness of using PRO-SEARCH in a…

Several reference librarians respond to the Hernon and McClure study on the accuracy of library reference services. Highlights include problems with the methodology used (unobtrusive observation), and performance factors not addressed by the study. Comments by Hernon and McClure address these responses and ways to improve reference services are…

Twelve online searchers in several reference departments in a major urban university library were interviewed to identify the criteria that are present in successful searches from the searcher's perspective. The study was designed to show that successful searching requires active participation by both the searcher and the patron throughout the…

This study, which was conducted at the University of Quebec over a period of six months, focuses on four systems for online information retrieval that are available to users at the university and provide access to some of the same databases: BRS (Bibliographic Retrieval Services Inc.), CAN/OLE (Canadian On-Line Inquiry), Lockheed DIALOG, and…

This report summarizes research undertaken at the Sterling C. Evans Library, Texas A & M University to assess the impact that end user information retrieval systems may have on library staff and users. Two systems, BRS/After Dark and Search Helper, were made available in the library for end user searching at no cost. A total of 260 users…

Discussion of issues concerned with providing library reference services to machine readable data files focuses on numeric databases. The team approach used at the University of Florida, which incorporates reference librarians, programers and data managers, database producers and vendors, and professional associations, is described. A bibliography…

Librarians will have to become more adept in the future in developing ways to assist users in narrowing or focusing information searches. Examples are provided of attempts by library and information professionals to help users cope with the problem of information overload. (Author/AEF)

Describes the components and capabilities of expert systems, discusses the use of such systems in library information applications, and outlines research being done in this area. A project aimed at the development of an expert system for referral services is described in detail, and implications for future research are discussed. (CLB)