In a career full of twists and turns, Abbie Grotke picked up the skills to help her land her ideal job: Digital Projects Coordinator for the Library of Congress. Presently, she oversees Minerva (Mapping the INternet Hectronic Resources Virtual Archive, www.loc.gov/minerva), a project to collect and preserve those materials that were "born…

Eva Miller has a knack for creating order out of disorder. She single-handedly brought Oregon's virtual reference service, Answerland, live in just under 90 days, says Rivkah Sass, now director of the Omaha Public Library. Miller created its web site, designed the graphics, developed marketing materials, and recruited and trained librarians--all…

Virtual reference services seem a natural extension of libraries digital collections and the emphasis on access to the library anytime, anywhere. If patrons use the library from home, it makes sense to provide them with person-to-person online reference. The Library of Congress (LC), OCLC, and several large library systems have developed and…

Like many young people, Aaron Schmidt loves electronic gadgets. But not for their own sake. He believes the future of libraries depends on how well we meet the needs of today's young adults, who are far more tech-fluent than most librarians. As reference librarian and all-around technology guru at Thomas Ford Memorial Library, Schmidt created the…

Librarians are in the business of serving the public. Perhaps the public happens to be those who live in a particular city or county, or study at a college or university, or work at a certain organization. No matter where librarians work, they have clientele whose needs for information and entertainment need to be met. Some would think that…

As question answering services in the commercial sector proliferate, libraries are innovating with new forms of electronic reference (e-reference). The Library of Congress' Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) extends worldwide. Discussion includes reference service developments; "reclaiming" users; growth of library interest…

Discusses the results of a survey of academic member libraries of the ARL (Association of Research Libraries) that investigated changes in reference services over the last three years and how electronic resources have impacted them. Topics include remote users; email reference; and live virtual reference. (LRW)

Focuses on possibilities for providing reference service to remote users of digital collections. Discusses international digital reference networks; factors that limit global electronic reference service; and drawbacks of e-mail and use of real-time interactive technologies for the reference encounter. Highlights some pioneering projects. (AEF)

Discusses the four stages in the development of reference services from print to electronic form: (1) the transformation of periodical indexes to full-text versions; (2) paperless encyclopedias; (3) electronic access to government data; and (4) popular titles appearing in electronic formats. A sidebar outlines innovations in reference services.…