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This study aims to evaluate medical students' impressions and attitudes toward scientific journal articles, and their accessibility to them in one of the developing countries, Jordan. Fourteen questions were asked to medical students to assess their knowledge and accessibility to papers, and to discover the impact of low interest in scientific papers on students' dealing with COVID-19. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. The study found that there is an unsatisfactory reading for scientific journal articles among medical students, with only 47.2% of students reading them. Furthermore, there are unsatisfactory results regarding students' knowledge about journal types from the trust perspective (i.e., predatory and reliable journals). This was mainly because of a lack of adequate universal teaching about scientific journal articles, as 86.7% of medical students reported that their universities do not teach them about scientific journal articles. The absence of comprehensive learning about scientific journal articles had a potential negative impact on the medical student's handling of COVID-19 socially (i.e., advising people in the community about vaccination importance, social distancing, and other preventive measures). Librarians should be involved primarily in undergraduate education related to scientific journal articles, and their role in providing subscription-based journals free of charge, as well as protecting students from predatory journals through suitable library instructions, is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the twenty-first century, many users seek instant gratification when searching library resources: if it is not online, it is not worth pursuing, even if the answers sought may be found in material available in print only. The digitization of older scholarly and related resources is far from complete, and may not happen for years, if ever. It is incumbent upon professional librarians to alert users to this large array of critically important material, available in hard copy only. As these resources may be difficult to find, we must be there to help with this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millions of full-text articles are downloaded per month using pirate websites. The purpose of this study was to survey professors and academic librarians on their knowledge, usage and teaching of pirate websites to students. A 21-question survey with adapted Likert scale and free text questions was sent to six academic librarian listservs and primary corresponding authors of top ten evolutionary and bioinformatics and computational biology journals since 2019 from Google Scholar rankings. Academic librarians (48%) and professors (60.5%) are not actively teaching about pirate websites. What is taught is how to ethically and legally access full-text articles, not the existence of pirate websites and how to use them. Concerns about espionage, viruses, and malware for affiliated institutions are concerns for professors and librarians. Sci-Hub continues to be the most known of pirate websites. Librarians and professors are satisfied with the selection of journal title offerings from their affiliated institutions, but desire additional resources for their research. Ease of use continues to be a reason why pirate websites are used, and cost in accessing full-text articles continues to be a concern for librarians and professors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Once upon a time, U.S. government information was released almost exclusively in print format although, by the 1970s, depository libraries received some publications on microfiche. The government began to produce more electronic information products, causing librarians to demand that these materials be included in the depository program. As the Internet became more heavily used, the U.S. government disseminated an increasing amount of information on the Internet. In August 2000, Superintendent of Documents Francis J. Buckley, Jr. sent directors of U.S. government depository libraries a letter informing them that the Federal Depository Library Program was underfunded, resulting in the transition to a substantially electronic depository system. This timeline shows some of the steps along the way to an electronic depository program. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes how to match journal lists from different data sources efficiently in four steps. The description is offered as an introduction to data matching techniques using Microsoft Excel and Access. An example application is offered to demonstrate why journal data matching is relevant for reference and instruction. The example is a comparison of two indexes, Social Services Abstracts and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts. The indexes are compared to each other, and both are compared to library holdings and interlibrary loan data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a social media debate and introduces four position papers on social media as information sources. False information, uneven quality of information, bias, manipulation, and insufficient control of false information are the main reasons against trusting information on social media. Providing a level playing field for all voices, disseminating information efficiently, making valuable information more accessible, and balancing the power in scholarly communication are the reasons for trusting information on social media. The paper also examines the reasons for social media use and applies the concept of trust from e-commerce management literature to assess social media information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to propose a conceptual model of a virtual reference service (VRS) time estimation system that can estimate and display the time required to complete a transaction. The system will start estimating the duration before initiation of a transaction and update the estimated duration with the changing complexity of the transaction. Literature on industrial time estimation techniques and artificial-intelligence based VRS programs are reviewed to identify the gap. Four flowcharts are constructed with the aid of machine learning techniques like random forest regression and speech recognition, and natural language processing techniques like intent and entity recognition, and weighting. The pre-estimating, estimating, and post-estimating stages of the system are vividly explained with an example to enlighten the time-estimation process. The limitation of the paper is that the system is not practically developed and tested. However, developing such a system will help in transparent and unbiased transaction time estimation and assist the library professionals to manage queue time and maintain consistent timeliness. The estimated time may be used as a benchmark for evaluating different aspects of VRS. Providing quality service within the estimated time may increase the reliability and loyalty of the patrons toward the library professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a social media debate and introduces four position papers on social media as information sources. False information, uneven quality of information, bias, manipulation, and insufficient control of false information are the main reasons against trusting information on social media. Providing a level playing field for all voices, disseminating information efficiently, making valuable information more accessible, and balancing the power in scholarly communication are the reasons for trusting information on social media. The paper also examines the reasons for social media use and applies the concept of trust from e-commerce management literature to assess social media information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis column considers challenges and opportunities AI generative chatbots pose to proprietary library databases. It briefly reviews evolution from paper library indices to Web-based databases then reasons why current chatbots pose greater challenges to database relevancy than when Web engines first emerged. Library databases and free chatbots are compared in terms of identifying information needs, and locating, evaluating, and using information. Q/A with EBSCO are collected on challenges and opportunities chatbots provide them. Discussion centering around questions intended for database vendors ensues, along with a conclusion on potential information literacy benefits if library databases adopt chatbot search platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to argue against the use of social media as an information resource and, in particular, that social media should not presently be considered a credible source of information for information professionals and the general public. Based on an exploration of the current literature, the authors discuss negative aspects of using social media for information purposes, namely, in terms of the dubious credibility of social media content, the commonality of echo chambers, and the effect of emotional content on users. There are several benefits of social media within our society, but ultimately social media should be approached with caution when it is used as a source of information for news, health-related information, or scholarly topics. Although this paper critiques social media primarily in terms of its implications for the library and information science field, it also views these various issues associated with social media more broadly in terms of their implications for the general public in shaping contemporary American culture, society, and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are ongoing conversations among information professionals on whether social media can be considered a credible source of information. The very features of social media platforms that make them attractive to users, such as their ability to create and share content, also make these platforms very open to false and misleading content, which calls all content on these platforms into question. The platforms themselves have not yet perfected moderation processes to filter out all misleading and harmful misinformation. This paper contends that for these and other reasons, the social media landscape in its current state cannot be considered a credible source of information. These issues negatively affect user expectations; however, the platforms continue to attract users and thereby present opportunities for misinformation to cause harm. All of these concerns affect the efforts of information professionals to instruct users on identifying false content, as well as the online behavior of these information organizations themselves. This paper discusses the issues of mis- and dis-information and lack of effective content moderation, and examines how information professionals and other users are affected by these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to argue against the use of social media as an information resource and, in particular, that social media should not presently be considered a credible source of information for information professionals and the general public. Based on an exploration of the current literature, the authors discuss negative aspects of using social media for information purposes, namely, in terms of the dubious credibility of social media content, the commonality of echo chambers, and the effect of emotional content on users. There are several benefits of social media within our society, but ultimately social media should be approached with caution when it is used as a source of information for news, health-related information, or scholarly topics. Although this paper critiques social media primarily in terms of its implications for the library and information science field, it also views these various issues associated with social media more broadly in terms of their implications for the general public in shaping contemporary American culture, society, and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are ongoing conversations among information professionals on whether social media can be considered a credible source of information. The very features of social media platforms that make them attractive to users, such as their ability to create and share content, also make these platforms very open to false and misleading content, which calls all content on these platforms into question. The platforms themselves have not yet perfected moderation processes to filter out all misleading and harmful misinformation. This paper contends that for these and other reasons, the social media landscape in its current state cannot be considered a credible source of information. These issues negatively affect user expectations; however, the platforms continue to attract users and thereby present opportunities for misinformation to cause harm. All of these concerns affect the efforts of information professionals to instruct users on identifying false content, as well as the online behavior of these information organizations themselves. This paper discusses the issues of mis- and dis-information and lack of effective content moderation, and examines how information professionals and other users are affected by these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of ChatGPT 3.5 in November 2022 ignited a sensation in the academic community, leaving many astounded by its capabilities. This new release more closely emulates human responses than its predecessors. Among its remarkable capabilities, it can answer questions, catalog items in MARC21, recommend reading lists, and make suggestions on a wide array of topics. To assess ChatGPT’s efficacy in aiding library users, the authors of this paper conducted an experiment comparing ChatGPT’s performance with that of librarians in answering reference questions. Thirty questions were randomly selected from the transaction log of the reference inquiries between June 1, 2023 to July 31, 2023 at the Rider University Libraries. These queries constituted 34% of the total user questions during this two-month period. The authors compared the answers by ChatGPT and those by reference librarians for their accuracy, relevance, and friendliness. The findings indicate that reference librarians markedly outperformed their robotic counterpart. An evident issue arises from ChatGPT’s deficiency in understanding local policies and practices. This consequently hinders its ability to provide satisfactory answers in those areas. OpenAI posits that ChatGPT’s proficiency can be enhanced through targeted fine-tuning using locally specific information. At the moment, ChatGPT remains a great tool for librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has presented a paradigm shift in a paradigm in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS). The profession necessitates digital scholarship knowledge, skills, and competencies. Academic and special research council libraries have introduced numerous functions and activities related to digital scholarship, to accommodate the demands of the 4IR. Thus, librarians who practice in these types of libraries and others are called on to revisit their related knowledge, skills and competencies. Most librarians who have been trained by LIS schools received their qualifications before the advent of the digital scholarship activities which now form part of their profession. This has created some uncertainty as far as digital scholarship job requirements are concerned. This paper forms part of a doctoral study that aimed to explore the education and training of South Africa's LIS professionals in digital scholarship, specifically those now serving in academic and special research council libraries. The study adopted an interpretive paradigm using a qualitative approach. A multiple case study design was used, employing semi-structured interviews as data-collection tool to interview ten digital scholarship librarians and their directors from six libraries in South Africa. The researcher sought to determine to what extent digital knowledge, skills and competences, and digital scholarship units and activities were part of their job requirements. The study concluded that LIS digital scholarship librarians should acquire digital scholarship knowledge, skills and competencies through formal education, training courses, workshops and on-the-job training. LIS schools should develop short learning courses to assist librarians in gaining the relevant knowledge, skills and competencies, while parent organizations should establish the relevant infrastructure and provide funding for training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 outbreak has brought a drastic change in the current educational system. While distance learning and online instruction is not really a new concept in the field of education (Kurzman, 2013), it has been intensified with the aim of minimizing physical interactions without jeopardizing the quality of knowledge transfer. The emergence of technology has also implicated changes in the information-seeking behavior of students over time (Oliveira & Greenidge, 2020). Online library orientations and virtual one-shot information literacy (IL) sessions have been in place to supplement virtual classroom instructions by teachers (Lierman & Santiago, 2019). The Nazarbayev University (NU) Library through its Reference Office took action and managed to implement creative ways to conduct online sessions. This paper documented NU students' virtual library experiences with subject librarians during the pandemic as perceived by students. The 10-item workshop evaluation revealed that students felt very satisfied with the content, coverage, and organization of library sessions. They also highly agreed that the conduct of library sessions was practical, clear, and has an avenue for interaction and development of their IL skills. In a follow-up study with workshop evaluation respondents, a stratified sample size of 101 was determined to identify the current IL skills of students. Students were given the opportunity to conduct a self-assessment of their IL skills. With a 31.68% response rate, the eight-item IL skillset affirmed that students personally believed they were moderate users in searching and evaluating information sources. This paper also determined the frequency of follow-up sessions requested by the students even after attending the online library orientations and IL sessions. Data included in this research was gathered between August 17 to November 27, 2020. To investigate further, an analysis of the reference queries received during the Fall 2020 semester using Reference Analytics was conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes two datasets of virtual reference interactions via a library chat service at the University of Mississippi: one from the COVID-19 pandemic period 2020-2022, and another from the pre-pandemic period of 2017–2019. By comparing the chats' length, distribution across days, weeks, and months, as well as word frequency analysis, it concludes that the pre-pandemic and pandemic chats appear to be fundamentally similar aside from a 16% drop in chat usage between the period from 2017–19 to the period from 2020–22. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of libraries in preparing students to thrive during their studies and innovate after university is growing in importance. Information is more easily accessible through digital channels and is increasingly abundant. Generative Artificial intelligence (AI) adds to this reality and increases the need for digitally driven information literacy skills. This paper aims to guide librarians by discussing the digitalization of information creation, retrieval, and use. It recommends the training of both digital and information literacy for students. Librarians are called upon to provide clear guidelines to their universities to steer the use of generative AI. The implications of digital information sources and generative AI are discussed with the role of librarians in context. Information literacy and digital literacy are related. Academic libraries should include digital topics in information literacy training. Information literacy should be trained at the start of university education and before students begin dissertation writing. University libraries should propose guidelines for the use of generative artificial intelligence tools by students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the phenomenal growth of online full-text sources, the opportunity to cut and paste portions of documents has increased rapidly. The advent of paper mills has also made it easy for writers to locate and download the full-text of papers. The authors suggest strategies for detecting plagiarism and assignment parameters for preventing plagiarism that librarians can share with faculty, as well as examples of library instruction materials about the ethical and moral implications and repercussions of practicing plagiarism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of big data is increasing in various sectors of the economy worldwide. Consequently, opportunities for data services are expanding in special, academic and public libraries. Librarians' cataloging, archiving, research, and reference skills remain especially suited for the provision of big data services. In this article the authors examine the literature on big data and libraries to identify major themes as well as highlight possibilities and problems with the management of large datasets. Librarians can utilize this information to develop or improve data services in their institutions' libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the analysis of over 4,000 chat questions from 2019-2020. Each chat question was individually categorized into broad level topics, and analyzed using sentiment analysis. During the COVID pandemic, there was an increase in the number of questions about accessing the physical collection, and a large decrease in questions about using the library space. The overall sentiments of the chat questions were much more negative during COVID. Tagging and analyzing chat questions in this way can offer unique insights for all types of libraries to appropriately staff the service and best support patron needs in times of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the concept of visual design as it applies to academic library webpages. There exist multiple unsettled aspects of visual design on library websites, prompting a need to critically examine and update current design practices. This paper presents aspects of layout, graphics, and navigation where no consensus for an effective design allowing students to interact with a library website has been achieved among librarians. It suggests areas of research whose investigation would strengthen the design of academic library webpages, and make them both more usable and more esthetically pleasing to a student population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facilitating student engagement, critical thinking, and strategic research approaches are key goals for many teaching librarians in academia. Librarians generally develop different tools to address these goals, depending on the class, the students, and the research in which students are participating. This paper outlines a peer-to-peer interview method developed as part of a workshop for an advanced chemistry class. The goal of this activity is to improve engagement, collaboration, and critical thinking before upper-level students delve into research literature. The activity iterations as well as outcomes, observations, and overall success are described in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reviews the nature of queries posed by library patrons during a regular reference interview, within the conceptual framework of Internet reference services in an academic library. The users of the reference desk in a typical university setting usually range from the freshmen to the faculty, with researchers from the corporate sector occasionally dropping in. Presented here will be the viewpoint of a reference librarian indicating that library users, armed with the newly acquired knowledge of Internet/electronic tools, leave the reference desk with a vastly different perspective on carrying out a literature search than they arrived with. The observation is that while the basic theme and nature of queries remain pretty much the same, it is the role of the reference librarian in responding to these queries that has undergone an immense change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The authors sent a survey about building and maintaining webliographies to two library listservs and mailed it to ASERL (Association of Southeastern Research Libraries) members. Librarians from 19 colleges and universities and 18 ASERL institutions responded. The guides are a logical extension of the pathfinders most libraries maintain for their patrons' use. This paper shows what importance librarians from all over the country place on creating and maintaining webliographies. Members of ASERL institutions are devoting as many or more librarians to create and maintain Web guides as are their colleagues in other geographic areas. The final results of the survey are outlined in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The cycle of scholarly communication is perpetuated by those who create, evaluate, disseminate, and consume research. This paper distinguishes that the stakeholders most directly involved in this process are researchers, academic publishers, and university libraries. Whereas researchers and libraries often submit and disseminate work for free, academic publishing companies monetize their product. In this instance, the product is research, and the clientele is university libraries, who are coerced into multiyear contracts with publishers, often costing in the upwards of millions, to tens of millions of dollars. With university library budgets squeezed thin, it could be advisable to seek alternative accessible sources, beyond that of the costly subscription journal. This exploratory study surveyed 110 academic professionals to investigate how these users engage with scholarly communication and use open access (OA) resources. The study found that though outcomes of commercialized academic publishing have disrupted the transfer of research, users are hesitant to rely solely upon OA sources, despite the perception that they are of equal value to traditional commercial sources. The author concludes that in order for research to be transferred fairly between all actors of scholarly communication, that both researchers and university libraries must strive to make OA resources commonplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the centrality of reference services to the practice of librarianship. It enumerates the limitations faced by Kenneth Dike Library (KDL) in its bid to deploy Information Communications Technology (ICT) to its reference services delivery system. Being a university library in a developing country, KDL has to cope with the problems confronting universities in Nigeria. The problems that plague the ivory towers and, consequently, the libraries that serve them, include lack of proper funding, infrastructural deficiencies, inability to retain information technology experts, and intra-local politics regarding the control of ICT facilities in the library. The paper also projects on KDL's efforts at establishing the virtual reference suite to complement its present reference services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the state of blog archiving by identifying from the published literature the most popular blogs and blogs on major events. Next it will check their current status and archiving methods. Blogs are not systematically archived, and some blogs on major events of the first decade of this millennium may already have been lost. It calls for better preservation and organization of blogs that have historical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The University of Nebraska at Omaha's Library expanded its reference services to an underserved area/curriculum at the Peter Kiewit Institute, a building on the University's South Campus. The Library chose videoconferencing to deliver library services to the Institute. This method included Web cameras, microphones, and Polycom software for a real-time interaction between the patron and librarian. The paper describes the planning process, hardware, software, problems, marketing, staff training, and ideas for future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a study of the utility of several popular search engines and of two newer search engines with respect to librarian-selected lists of Web resources and Internet searching behaviors. This study addresses whether said resources are returned where Internet searchers could reasonably be expected to find them and whether the search engines employed serve as acceptable substitutes for the expert advice of librarians. Search engines included in the study were Google, MSN.com. Yahoo, Lycos, AskJeeves, Icerocket, and Acoona. Searches for the study were based on the topics/titles of the "Internet Resources" columns from College & Research Libraries News for 2004. Finally, the paper addresses methodological concerns and proposes possible directions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a library subscribes to multiple databases and full-text resources, it can be a challenge to determine if the full-text of an article cited in one database is available in another resource. Link resolving software makes this task easier by acting as a bridge between databases; patrons easily go from a journal citation in one database to the full-text of the journal in another database. In an attempt to help reference librarians understand the technology and issues, this paper gives a brief overview of link resolver implementation and terminology. It also explores the data problems and issues encountered during and after implementation of Innovative Interfaces' link software, WebBridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines questions submitted to Ohio State University Main Library's Ask-A-Librarian e-mail reference service over a two and one-half year period. Data were gathered on type of patron, type of question, and librarian response. Analysis showed that 48% of questions were submitted by university affiliates. Types of questions were similar to those asked at the reference desk, with patrons not affiliated with the university being most likely to ask in-depth questions. Librarian responses included complete, partial, and negative answers to questions as well as referrals to other libraries or organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper will examine the motivations, considerations, and experiences of librarians at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's (UMDNJ) Health Sciences Library at Stratford (HSL@S), an academic library participating in Q and A NJ, the first 24/7, statewide interactive reference service. This library is in a unique position as the sole health sciences library participating in a statewide project of this scope and breadth. The author gives a unique perspective and demonstrates how multi-type libraries can work together to provide a multitude of benefits to all participants. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The technique used by librarians to determine a user's information question is called the reference interview. It has migrated from the physical reference desk to an e-mail based platform, and thence to a live, or synchronous, interactive mode. By adding this interactive feature to their reference services, libraries are directly reaching users who may have shied away from asking the same question at the traditional reference desk. This paper analyzes the Web-based reference interview and raises a significant question: “Does it save the time of the interviewee?” This question is analyzed in the context of Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library Science. Areas that require a full-length study are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

For many students, the World Wide Web is their main access point for library research and, therefore, libraries need to find a venue for the virtual reference interview. This paper discusses the use of the library home page as a reference tool and its importance in the online reference interview process. This article also discusses some of the research that went into the creation of a home page for a large, urban, academic institution, how this research was utilized, and how the resulting page serves as an online surrogate for the in-person reference interview. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes the process and creation of a library resources and services Web page within WebCT, a course authoring program that is being used to deliver complete course content over the Internet in a distance education program at The Ohio State University. A librarian at the Prior Health Sciences Library was asked to join a faculty team to teach and provide library services for a series of three courses. The students are working health professionals who cannot attend regularly scheduled classes. Illustrations are included of the WebCT course page and the library resources and services page. The initial process and planning are described, and recommendations for future research are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The coronavirus pandemic introduced a "new normal" to the everyday lives of people the world over, including an evolving understanding of the virus's spread and long-term impact. With each new development, misinformation about COVID-19 proliferated, sowing confusion and uncertainty about everything from causes to cures. In response, two librarians designed The COVID-19 Misinformation Challenge, a weeklong program aimed at discerning coronavirus fact from fiction on social media, in the news, and in academic publishing. Based on the number of program participants and their overwhelmingly positive feedback, the Challenge proved to be popular, fun, and educational. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online library research guides are instructional tools that most libraries provide for their patrons. With greater flexibility in Web programming and new products like Springshare's Libguides, librarians have multiple venues for guide creation. This paper seeks to assist research guide editors in assessing their guides based on cognitive load theory. This theory is based on the idea that cognitive capacity for learning is limited and that techniques can be developed to help learners avoid cognitive overload. Addressing the three main sources of cognitive load gives librarians a framework in which to create meaningful and useful research guides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ball State University Libraries' collections of audiovisual materials are unclassified and kept in closed stacks. Users must search the OPAC to find these materials, which is difficult for users who don't know what sorts of searching options are available or what materials the libraries have. The libraries have developed a series of Web forms that provide guided search options for various types of media, including feature films, non-classical music, and spoken recordings. The Media Finders provide better exposure for and more convenient searching of subsets of library materials. This paper describes the development of the Media Finders, their benefits and drawbacks, and background information on the technical elements and searching strategies used by the Media Finders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1996, Lehigh University merged its libraries, computing, and telecommunications services into a single organization called Information Resources. As part of the merger, the frontline services--the computing support desk and the library reference desk-were combined into a single help desk designed to offer a single point of service, with backup by a second tier of computing, instructional technology, enterprise information, and library consultants. The author reviews the literature on the service implications of merging libraries and computing and provides an overview of the new organizational structure of Lehigh's Information Resources. The rest of the paper traces the development of the LTS (Library and Technology Services) integrated help desk over ten years and describes management issues such as training, staffing, referral, work flow, assessment, and other topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At a time when many libraries have decided that the creation and maintenance of individual virtual reference service requires too great an investment of time and effort for too small a return, Oregon State University Libraries recently deepened their commitment to virtual reference. Since 2003, OSU has participated in L-Net, Oregon's statewide virtual reference service. As a participant, OSU is eligible to use the Tutor.com software to create a local virtual reference service for the OSU community and has been encouraged by the state to do so. In this paper we share OSU libraries' reasons for creating a separate queue for our community, our experiences with it so far, and our plans for the future of L-Net OSU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Libraries have developed methods and processes for collecting, processing, providing access to, and preserving paper publications. As publishing shifts from printed to digital form, libraries need to rethink and revise systems to handle the ever-increasing flow of digital publications. These challenges are being addressed by the State Library of North Carolina as it attempts to manage digital state government publications, which have characteristics similar to most gray literature now produced on the Internet. This article discusses changes in cataloging and workflow designed to accommodate the increased amount of digital information and presents a model for managing digital publications in the context of state government publications. The conceptual model covers six aspects of a publication's management: creation, collection, description, storage, access, and preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In observance of the twentieth anniversary of the publication of the first journal article devoted to virtual reference, the author explores early e-mail and chat reference services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the unveiling of Google Scholar (GS), academic libraries have struggled with the question of how and where (and in some cases, whether) to integrate GS into the suite of research resources they present to their users. This paper presents a critical evaluation of GS, examining its arrangement, authority, content, comparability with traditional indexing services, creation and currency, and usability, and offers tentative conclusions about its "fit." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published guidelines for distance learning library services provide a framework for distance education librarians to use in planning services for off-campus students. Other literature in the arena of distance education librarianship provides concrete examples of how reference services have been offered in real settings. This paper attempts to synthesize these two types of literature in order to offer models of reference service for distance learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet and other online resources make researching easier, but they also provide a more conducive means to plagiarism. Products like Turnitin and PlagiServe are beginning to harness the Internet for detecting plagiarism, in a similar fashion to what search engines such as Google and Profusion have long been doing. It remains to he seen, however, if detection services perform better than the search engines. This paper examines the advantages and shortcomings of four online plagiarism detection measures, including detection services and search engines, as well as testing the products for their ability to accurately detect plagiarism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applauds the recent growth of virtual pointof- need reference services in libraries as a step in the direction of paying attention to users who, now that they have handy commercial alternatives, won't ask a question at the physical reference desk from within the library building or no longer come into the building. However, like the “horseless carriage” analogy, we seem to be using the new technology to maintain the status quo. The author argues for regarding virtual reference service as a starting point to transform ready reference services altogether, raising libraries and librarians to a new level of importance within their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With the emergence of the browser searchable Internet in the early 1990s, accessing the World Wide Web has become commonplace. In regards to its impact on student research, current undergraduates have become savvy searchers when it comes to accessing and integrating Internet documents into their research papers. However, this ease of use has come at a price. The overall quality of research being submitted by our students has suffered. Many incoming undergraduates don't make the distinction between documents located via a typical Internet search engine and full-text information generated from academic proprietary databases housed on the library's home page. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This bibliography lists state-of-the-art publications in the area of real-time reference interview. The author makes no claim that the list is exhaustive. Rather, it is hoped that this bibliography can help in finding if there is any focus in the emerging literature in this area. Being a first attempt to list the primary sources, it is expected that this will lead to exhaustive annotated and evaluative studies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]