Visitors to the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University may have noticed the recent appearance of the color red as student employees promote the value of reference desks with the slogan ...

For years, we’ve been hearing that traditional library reference service is dead. In reality, reference just disappeared, like Jimmy Hoffa. But unlike in the case of Hoffa, no one in the library field ...

This is a time of transition in academic libraries. Core functions -- like reference services, collection development, and preservation -- are being rethought and redefined as libraries move from ...

“Can athlete’s foot catch on fire?” “Do you guys need any tutors for football?” “Do you have anything to eat?” These and other urgent academic library reference questions are answered in this final ...

A new question has been popping up for the Rochester Public Library’s reference desk. Could the water leak that damaged much of the second floor point to a way to engage more library users? "Having ...

Last year, I asked a number of graduating seniors why they thought some students were reluctant to use our library’s reference desk, and what we could do to make the service more appealing. The most ...

When I was a child, for as long as I could remember, my family’s Encyclopedia Britannica set was missing two volumes — the two volumes that always seemed to pertain to my homework assignments. And so ...

Beyond the glass double doors leading into the Reference Room of Morris Library at the University of Delaware is a desk typically occupied with jigsaw puzzles. Recently, on the right sat a 300-piece ...

SPRINGFIELD — Thanks to a bequest from the late Mary K. Brogan’s estate, the city library’s reference department and East Forest Park branch will receive at least $12,500 annually to improve services.

“How do you undo nerve gas?” “How do you make rope out of human hair?” “Would you mind checking out this rash?” These are other burning reference questions are answered in this homage to the 7.2 ...