Just how long are a giraffe's vocal cords? That was one of the most interesting questions the reference staff of the Kalamazoo Public Library received last year, said Judy Burtless-Buttery, adult ...

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 ...

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 ...

“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 ...

In San Francisco, a woman logs on to a Web site from her home computer and types a question: Where can I find the president’s 2006 budget request for NASA? A librarian, who is also online, directs the ...

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 ...

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 ...

I grew up without a local public library. The Ramapo Catskill Library System in New York provided bookmobile service to my small town, so I at least had access to recreational reading, but it was ...