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

The resources of thousands of books and pamphlets are housed in countless libraries throughout the United States; librarians codify, classify, and circulate these materials in ways that are often mysterious to library users. There are many ways to reduce this element of mystery: effective service at the reference desk; prominent signs and…

Designed as a policy statement for staff and an orientation document for the new staff member, this manual presents reference service guidelines for user assisted access to the library collections and library instruction. The manual sets forth the purpose, goals, and ethics of reference service; defines categories of users; establishes priorities…

Proposes three methods to be used by database searchers in structuring online search sessions with the goal of minimizing the negative effects on interlibrary loan operations. Forms management, management of printed search results, and the instruction of patrons are discussed. (Author/EM)

Discusses academic library users who are not affiliated with the institution and considers the problems associated with them. Ethical issues are raised; possible solutions are suggested, including guidelines, bibliographic instruction, and user fees; and policies implemented at the University of California at Berkeley regarding unaffiliated users…

Provides practical information for librarians beginning to use online searching for reference services at the high school level. Selection of equipment, software, and database vendors are discussed, as well as financing, involvement of the school administration, and working with users to determine their information needs. (CDD)

Discussion of the distribution of government information on CD-ROM to federal depository libraries focuses on a survey of a sample of federal depositories that investigated the availability of hardware; software; staff, including staff training; reference service; and bibliographic instruction. Suggested GPO (Government Printing Office) guidelines…

Prepared to provide guidance in the provision of reference service, this statement expresses the understanding between the library administration and the Reference Services Department of Ellis Library at the University of Missouri-Columbia concerning the manner in which the department's responsibilities are to be carried out. The procedures will…

Designed to acquaint students with the facilities and resources of the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Library, this library manual is divided into 24 chapters: (1) The Main Library; (2) Reference Room; (3) Periodical Indexes; (4) Infotrac Academic Index; (5) Abstracts and Two-Step Indexes; (6) Locating Periodicals; (7) Newspaper Indexes and…

The Bibliographic Instruction Committee of the Wichita State (Kansas) University Libraries recommended changes to improve the current bibliographic instruction program for lower division undergraduates. The shortcomings of the current program, one class period in a required English course, were analyzed; and suggestions were made to improve the…

The Peer Reference Counseling Program at Valdosta State University (Georgia) is a program designed to provide students with a unique opportunity to work at the Reference Desk at Odum Library. This program employs minority students and trains them to work at the Reference Desk answering basic reference questions and utilizing as well as…