As background for defining public library adult services in the 1980s the perceived role of the public library in the United States since its inception is summarized and changing definitions are analyzed. Data collection and analysis plans for the Adult Services in the Eighties Project are described. (EM)

The problems confronting the interlibrary loan (ILL) librarian and the costs of ILL services, based on a survey of twenty libraries, are reported. (NH)

Contains papers presented at the Cooperative Reference Service Committee program during the 1981 ALA Annual Conference, including discussions of the Library of Congress Reference Correspondence Referral program, the University of Illinois Slavic Reference Service, the functions of the British Library Lending Division, and national-level…

Reference librarians must, if they hope to survive, retool in preparation for becoming the interface between the patron and computer-based information systems. This involves sharpening the interview technique and understanding where to plug into the information flow process. (4 references) (Author)

Discussion of a statement of goals and objectives for reference department staff is based on an informal survey of reference managers in academic and public libraries and professional literature of planning. Strategies for developing statements (role of manager, arriving at goals, setting priorities, developing objectives) are described. Fifteen…

The role of public services librarians in collection development is examined in light of changes being brought to libraries by finances, cooperation, and information access. Highlights include situation in academic and special libraries, attributes of successful reference librarians and choices affecting collection developing, collection…

The question presented is whether a teletype service answering reference questions, verifying bibliographic citations, and referring certain questions to other agencies and institutions could be effectively provided for public and college library systems in Iowa by students in an advanced reference course in the School of Library Science. (8…

The results of a survey of seventy-six academic library members of the Association of Research Libraries revealed that the reference departments in many academic libraries are operating without a formal policy statement. A draft outline of a reference service policy manual produced at the University of Massachusetts library is included. (NH)

A cooperative effort, Project LOEX (Library Orientation Exchange), designed to exchange ideas and information relating to orientation and instruction in academic libraries is discussed. (Author/SJ)

A description of administrative aspects of the Nassau Library System (New York) by the Director. Presented at a colloquium held at the School of Library Science, State University of New York, Albany, in 1969. (JB)

The Louisiana Numerical Register is a union catalog of 550,000 titles, arranged by LC card number, in seventeen academic libraries, two medical libraries, the Louisiana State Library, and the New Orleans Public Library. Its costs and use as an interlibrary loan finding tool are evaluated. (LS)

Describes results of a survey of heads of interlibrary loan at Association of Research Libraries (ARL) academic libraries that was conducted in 1988. Highlights include location; personnel organization; staffing patterns, including librarians, nonprofessionals, and student assistants; and services offered, including document delivery and the use…

Refutes several popular but ill-founded arguments against user education for public library patrons to suggest that the only real issue is the extent of library involvement. This adaptation from a soon-to-be-published book on library user education includes seven references. (RAA)

If librarians from all areas of reference and information service understood their own roles better, then they might feel more capable of fruitful interchange transcending common institutional boundaries. (Author)