Examines the following elements of scaffolding, providing insight into the librarian's role as educator: attention, ownership, collaboration, appropriateness, modeling, support, adjustment, and internationalization. A sidebar lists 10 ways to recognize a constructivist children's reference librarian. (AEF)

Public libraries do not always meet community information needs because librarians are trained to answer questions through books when often the best information in an area is from alternative sources. The government provides free information on investments, jobs, health, and legal problems; experts and clearinghouses are other good information…

Presents revision of the original "Guidelines for Establishing Information and Referral Service in Public Libraries," adopted by the Public Library Association Board of Directors on January 22, 1980. The revision approved on January 8, 1985, reflects changes in terminology and in the information and referral field during past five years. (EJS)

Describes the incongruence between the service priorities of the public library community and the public. The results of a public poll on library roles (e.g., educational support, independent learning, preschool programs, community information, reference, and popular materials) and an analysis of public library data for 1992 are compared and…

Examines the effect of information technology on library school curriculum, the role of reference librarians in public libraries, reference services, and user access to information. Identifies four limitations that may affect the service given by reference librarians: subject knowledge, language, cultural literacy, and logical inference…

Includes three articles that consider the effects of the Internet on public library reference services. Highlights include the reliability of Internet information sources, its timeliness as a tool for information access and dissemination, the Internet as change agent for libraries; reference publishing, helping the searcher refine requests, and an…