Reference statistics were collected and analyzed for a three-year period from Fall 1975 to Summer 1976 at the Pennsylvania State University Main Undergraduate Library. Reference questions were classified and recorded in three categories: (1) search, (2) ready reference, and (3) directional. Hour of question, interlibrary loan, book, and telephone…

This policy manual explains computer search services at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, University Library. The service is available to anyone willing to assume the cost of the services and able to schedule time for both the search strategy interview and the search itself. Requests for computer services are not accepted over the phone or…

Library schools must produce new generations of librarians and information specialists with a clear vision of the characteristics and potential of full information delivery systems. (Author/PF)

Analysis of data collected from 3,000 academic libraries by the 1977 Library General Information Surveys reveals that library operating budgets, institutional enrollment, and library circulation are the best predictors of reference and directional transactions. Fifty-five percent of the transactions at reference service points are directional,…

The Texas Information Exchange (TIE) is a state-wide library network organized in 1967 for the purpose of sharing resources among Texas libraries. Its membership includes 37 college and university libraries, the Texas State Library, and ten public libraries that serve as Major Resource Centers in the Texas State Library Communications Network. In…

This guide to services of the reference department of Fenwick Library, George Mason University, is intended for use by staff in the department, as well as the general public. Areas covered include (1) reference desk services to users; (2) reference desk support procedures; (3) off desk services; (4) collection development, including staff…

An invitational conference, attended by 200 library executives, practitioners and persons from allied fields, was held to explore progress and problems in library development in New York State. Special consideration was given to: (1) the application of data processing techniques for reference and research and (2) the improvement of information…

The types of reference question considered most difficult by the staffs of Northern California public library systems were the subject of a workshop conducted by the Bay Area Reference Center (BARC). The topics included: antiques and collectibles; identifying a poem from its middle line; how to make practically anything; how to repair various…

A library for the blind is a good public library which deals in several media: Braille, tape, and large type. Such a library has the capability and dedication to provide each patron with personalized service, transcribing materials from regular print on demand. Organizations that simply select books made available the Library of Congress for mail…

A handbook of the procedures and organization of the Ford Foundation Library, a current reference library, this manual includes forms used for selection, acquisition, and circulation of the Foundation's library materials. The manual was written for the use of the Foundation staff but includes a broad informational outline on which to base the…

Data regarding current services in hospital libraries of the metropolitan Detroit area form the nucleus of this study. The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to ascertain what services are given to users of hospital libraries and (2) to determine the value of the inventory as a means for obtaining information on user-services in hospital…

Researchers make little or no use of formal information systems. This is due, not so much to 'information apathy' on their part, as to faults inherent in information services as a whole. A formal information service may not come through at all. It is not capable of reaching behind a request to the real question that motivated it. By not being able…

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 role of the library has traditionally been book or collection oriented. There is need for the university library to become service-oriented. Integrated collection management means the development and use of resources in the provision of services to meet the total information needs of the user community. Any resources which supply the required…

Since bibliographic services cannot be provided individually, it is this that offers the greatest potential for networking. This paper is concerned with the degree of success that libraries have in providing physical access to materials on the local level. Libraries do provide from their collections a large percent of items requested. If…