Describes a contract between the reference service of a library system in Illinois and a commercial supplier of information in Berkeley, California, to provide the answers to 200 reference questions for a flat rate of $6000. The contract, considered the first of its kind, successfully relieved a current reference overload. (RAA)

Presents results of a study on user needs, sources used, and search successes. Illustrates that despite increasing competition from other information sources available to the public--such as consumer media and the Internet--libraries are still a primary source of information and education for the American public. (AEF)