This article reports on the third phase of a project studying the integration of information behavior theories and concepts into professional education for reference and information service (RIS). It also provides a synthesis of the results of all studies in the project, including a syllabus study, an interview study, and the survey. Results of…

It has been almost 50 years since Robert Taylor published his classic 1968 article, "Question-Negotiation and Information Seeking in Libraries," in "College & Research Libraries"; yet much of what that article discussed is as fresh today as it was back then. It has been identified as a classic because it has enduring themes…

In spring semester 2009, two of the authors taught LIB 5020--Information Sources & Services to graduate library science students at Appalachian State University. The course covers information seeking patterns and provides an overview of reference services. The course is also designed to examine and evaluate library reference materials and…

Library Schools can devise improved techniques in reference librarianship and can encourage a research orientation by better understanding the structure of the literature and the way librarians operate within that structure. (8 references) (MM)

Reports on research to determine the cognitive style of reference librarians on the field dependence/field independence dimension and to relate cognitive style to personal and professional variables such as role perception, library affiliation, and undergraduate major. Included are two figures, one data table, and a reference list. (Author/JL)

Two aspects of Karl Popper's philosophy are applied to reference process: process is viewed as series of problem-solving situations amenable to analysis using Popper's problem-solving schema. Reference interview is analyzed in context of Popper's postulate that books contain autonomous world of ideas existing apart from mind of knower. (30…

Reports on research by library science students for a public library to determine the information needs of a community's health-care professionals, their views of patient information needs, and the public library's ability to meet those needs. An added benefit was positive public relations with the medical community. (Contains 14 references.) (EAM)

A series of five runs comprised of 20 searches each were carried out in a three-year span of the INSPEC data base. The same queries were processed manually in the corresponding volumes of Science Abstracts, and comparison of the output of each search method exposed reasons for the failures. Emphasis is laid on the fact that a query comprises other…

Discusses scientific communication; the information needs and information-seeking behavior of scientists; the role of the science librarian, including collection development, resource sharing, and information literacy and bibliographic instruction; and document delivery, including interlibrary loan and technological awareness. (LRW)