The document entitled "A Commitment to Information Services," prepared over a period of two years by the Standards Committee of the Reference and Adult Services Division (RASD) of the American Library Association, and now formally adopted by the Division Executive Board, is a better disappointment. (Author)

Prepared by the Standards Committee, Reference and Adult Services Division, American Library Association. (PF)

Few standards for reference services have appeared in the past, therefore guidelines for reference librarians at the University of Michigan--Dearborn library are offered. The guidelines presented are based upon reference standards prepared by the Reference and Adult Services Division (RASD) Standards Committee for the ALA Centennial Conference in…

This discussion of the development of library reference service standards and guidelines for service measurement highlights the work of the American Library Association (ALA) Committee on Standards, guidelines adopted by ALA's Reference and Adult Services Division, and efforts of state, public, and university libraries. Fourteen references are…

Despite the frequency with which library reference services are evaluated, there is a dearth of guidelines for the operation and evaluation of reference services. An American Library Association committee investigated the issue and made recommendations for improved reference operations, but the nature of information retrieval is rapidly changing,…

Contains the text of the American Library Association Reference and Adult Services Division's guidelines entitled "A Commitment to Information Services." (PF)

Presents standards for reference services developed by the Suburban Library System (Illinois) and discusses the effects of the standards on youth services. Standards for a written reference plan, reference staff, reference sources, and evaluation are included. (11 references) (MES)

This study outlines the types of library service required to furnish quality reference services to state agencies. The services provided by the Oregon State Library were evaluated according to the standards established by the American Library Association. Evaluation of the collection for scope and coverage in subject areas of automation,…

A national standard for measurement of reference service would help librarians. Such statistics are necessary for evaluation of interlibrary cooperation in reference, but keeping statistics is time consuming and difficult. Librarians need a new way to quantify the work involved in answering a reference question. An improved format, applied…

The activities of the Dag Hammarskjold Library at United Nations (UN) Headquarters relating to the documentation of the UN are described. The topics discussed are: acquisition and maintenance of materials, indexing, reference, microreproduction, depository libraries, standardization, and coordination with agencies in the UN system. (Author)

A model is provided for staffing telephone reference operations which allow for the balancing of staffing requirements and reference delivery standards. Telephone service is assumed, but it should be equally applicable to any reference queuing situation. (Author)

A project team was commissioned to gather information which could be used by the Reference Standards Committee of the American Library Association in their development of standards for library reference services. The metropolitan Atlanta area was selected because it includes in an accessible geographical area the entire range of types of…

Discusses results of a study that produced a preliminary sense of reference librarians' experiences in adapting reference practice to the digital environment, and described their own views about digital reference. Considers reference interviews, digital reference service quality and standards, and types of questions best suited to digital…

In order to discern states' compliance with court mandates to provide prisoners with adequate legal counsel or access to legal reference materials, a questionnaire was administered to state consultants in 1972 and updated and expanded by later contacts with institutional consultants. Findings indicated that states are trying to comply with…

A descriptive study was conducted employing questionnaires distributed to users and staff members. The adequacy of informational and instructional staff performances, their attitude toward patrons, and the relative proportions of reference and nonreference questions were explored. It was recommended to the staff that methods of performance…