Presents preliminary results of Clearwater Public Library's study of the usefulness of "Output Measures for Public Libraries" as an indicator of reference performance, and the impact of collection development choices on reference output measures. Data on turnover rate, in-library use, reference fill rate, and reference transactions per…

Discusses new technologies and the value of one-on-one personalized interaction in the reference environment and reports results of an informal survey of practitioners that investigated their views on the influences of theoretical models and new technologies on reference service. Highlights include collection development; interpersonal relations;…

Reports results of survey investigating aspects of weeding of materials in reference collections at 377 U.S. colleges and universities: existence of written policy or unwritten weeding practice; extent of weeding; frequency; what happens to discards; effect of shelf space, staff time, and use of materials on weeding decisions. (5 references) (EJS)

Discusses kinds of problems public librarians encounter in the process of providing legal and health information. Data are compared from two surveys of reference librarians who provide legal and health information services in Ontario (Canada) public libraries, and implications for collection development are suggested. (17 references) (LRW)

Advocates providing automobile repair and service information in public libraries, and discusses collection development issues, reference services, and problems in making repair manuals available. Describes the collection and services for patrons in Tacoma Public Library and results of a survey of other public libraries holding automobile repair…

Seven articles on library reference services highlight reference obsolescence in academic libraries, major studies of unobtrusive reference tests, methods for evaluating reference desk performance, reference interview evaluation, problems of reference desk control, online searching by end users, and reference collection development in…

This report is based on information from the 1990-91 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Academic Libraries survey, a U.S. Department of Education vehicle for collecting data from all postsecondary institutions in the United States. The data in this report represent colleges and universities with accreditation at the higher…

This document examines the impact of new information technologies on the various roles of national libraries. Seventy-two national libraries responded to a questionnaire designed to assist in determining how such institutions worldwide are responding to recent technological innovations. The first of six chapters identifies three basic…