School libraries are no longer solely repositories for the information that has traditionally been published in books. School library professionals are providing education and access to information in many different formats and technologies. The role of the school librarian is much more than just literacy; it is about visibility, culture, and…

Differing from those of their liberal arts and Association of Research Libraries counterparts, today's comprehensive universities face a variety of unique challenges and opportunities when it comes to assessing their collections. This article looks at the different needs and interests of comprehensive universities and focuses on the challenges…

This is the fourth in a series of reports evaluating the Public Library Statistics (PLS) program, an annual census of public libraries in the United States. The census includes, in addition to a full count of public libraries and their outlets, a variety of statistics about the services provided by and, the financial condition and the staffing…

Discusses the use of the Internet for ready reference and considers limitations, reference policy, and cost issues. Highlights include general reference sources; database searching on the Internet; Gopher; bibliographic control and access to Internet resources; personnel issues; and levels of service. (Contains 30 references.) (LRW)

This document reports results of an online survey that examined practices and procedures in the management of electronic resources in 65 academic library reference departments. Responses are related to: (1) student population; (2) library use by community people; (3) number of public access workstations, workstations with World Wide Web access,…

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…

This issue presents 42 articles that provide an overview of current reference services in all types of libraries in Illinois. Highlights include designing reference areas; policies and manuals; the reference interview; reference tools; automated databases; resource sharing; services to youth; services to special populations; and reference…