This draft was prepared by the Reference and Adult Services Division of ALA, and covers the issues of accuracy of information, impartiality of presentation, confidentiality of interview, and financial gain in information service work. (JAB)

Prepared by the Standards Committee, Reference and Adult Services Division, American Library Association. (PF)

The reference librarians' task is to provide specific information as needed by users, rather than to teach them the mechanics of finding the information themselves. (LS)

A draft report, designed to provide direction for reference service, prepared by the Standards Committee, American Library Association. (PF)

The two types of ethics with which this paper is concerned are: (1) those directly related to policies or attitudes of reference service in relation to inquiries which are symptomatic of current social change and (2) those associated with the quality of individualized reference service. (Author/NH)

The study reported here was conducted to determine whether local decision makers have information needs that can be elicited by direct contact, whether their questions could be answered through the resources of a research library, and, if so, whether the public library could have served as well. (Author/JAB)

Summary of survey of the American Library Association Reference and Adult Services Division (RASD) members concerning attitudes toward, need for, and preferences in acquiring information on automated information retrieval services. (KP)

This study explored the relationship between expanded information and referral (I&R) services and traditional reference services in public libraries in North Carolina. Results show librarians feel I&R services should be limited to those closely related to traditional reference services. Other I&R services typically provided by social…

Criticizes the typical reference librarian's solution to a student's information request--the book--and presents specific reasons for offering a variety of sources and formats. Included is an information 'credo' that emphasizes information, not its package. (JD)

If the library is to serve a communication function, we need not only to gain further insight into the nature and pattern of the interpersonal encounter through scholarly research, but also to have a clearly defined notion of the library's role in today's rapidly changing society. (38 references) (Author)

Presents the scope and developmental guidelines for reference and information services in libraries and information centers that have been adopted by the Reference and Adult Services Division of the American Library Association. Services, resources, environment, personnel, evaluation, and ethics of service are the areas covered. Included is a…

Describes how reference librarians can help patrons use machine-readable data files. (PF)

This study of reference service measurement in support of professionalism for librarians eliminates the directional vs. reference query distinctions and looks at all reference desk transactions in terms of the number of distinct and definable judgments they require for resolution. (Author/JAB)

The use of the telephone as a training device for new reference assistants is described. (NH)

Discusses the application of statistical sampling to the compiling of reference-desk statistics, and describes a technique that uses the Pearson correlation procedure of SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) to determine appropriate sampling periods for keeping reference desk statistics at the University of Missouri at St. Louis. (FM)