It was with great interest that I read Scott Carlson’s “Are Reference Desks Dying Out?” (The Chronicle, April 20). While the beginning of the article gave a true picture of the work being done by ...

As of yesterday morning, students can ask a reference librarian questions about research at any time of the day (or night) through a new online service offered by the Boston Library Consortium (BLC).

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about the broad intersection of data and society. Perhaps the greatest irony of the digital era is that while Silicon ...

At the University of California at Merced’s library, there is no reference desk and there never has been. The way reference services are delivered there would intrigue some and disturb others. At the ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. - University at Buffalo librarians are offering real-time, online reference assistance to students, some as far away as China, using AOL Instant Messenger software (AIM) in the popular ...

Files at the Central Library's Virtual Reference Pod bulge with the answers to difficult or unique questions – some of which come up a lot. Using 10 of those answers, the AJC created a quiz to see if ...

It's time for another 7 Questions. This week, Rochester Public Library employee Katherine Stecher talks about what it's like to work in an empty library, the most memorable requests she's gotten as a ...

Many times I have been at the front desk of our library and have had someone ask a detailed question for information that I know is available at the reference desk. When I explain where the reference ...

Eric Hoffer, the American longshoreman philosopher, noticed that “Whenever you trace the origin of a skill or practices which played a crucial role in the ascent of man, we usually reach the realm of ...

Research librarians at the UMD library participate in the learning process in many ways including that of promoting information literacy. According to the American Library Association, "to be ...

I know it is a common stereotype for an old guy to complain about how good the kids have it today. I, however, will take a little different approach: We have it so much better today when it comes to ...

You don’t often turn on a light and think, “That power company is sure on the ball!” You generally only think of them when the lights go out without warning. I think the same is true of search. You ...