Print version (Adobe Reader required)
The firestorm of controversy over the recent vote in Switzerland to ban the building of minarets on mosques highlights the perilous and contentious state of Islamic community, culture, and religion in Europe. Finding reliable and current research and resources on the many threads that informs the debate surrounding the European Islamic community, Western perceptions, and the tensions between factions can be difficult. Jessica Adamick offers a comprehensive and up to date survey of resources that can aid reference and collection development librarians when working in this subject area. Adamick received her MLS from the School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University Bloomington, with a specialization in Digital Libraries in May 2009 and currently works as the Ethics Clearinghouse Librarian at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is working on a National Science Foundation-funded project to build the Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse Beta (ESENCe), a subject repository on the responsible conduct of research. Adamick developed her interest in the topic of Islam in Europe when she studied in Amsterdam as an undergraduate. She subsequently explored the topic at Earlham College, where she graduated with a BA in Women’s Studies in 2007.—Editor

Over the last three decades, events involving the conflict between European Muslims and secular or Christian European states have been highly visible. Protests of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses dominated the media in 1989, following a denied appeal by the United Kingdom Action Committee on Islamic Affairs for the British government to ban the book’s release. Also in 1989, the Affaire du Foulard (“the Headscarf Affair”) began in Creil, France, when three Muslim girls wearing headscarves were sent home from school. A national controversy ensued that led to the passing of a law in 2004 that banned obvious signs of religious affiliation in French schools. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, debates that associated Islam with violence became widespread. The murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by Dutch Muslim Mohammed Bouyeri and the Al-Qaeda bombing of trains in Madrid only fueled the flames of the heightened rhetoric. In response to these events and their political aftermath, there has been an enormous increase in publications on the topic of Islam in Europe. This annotated guide includes relevant, informative, authoritative, and influential reference sources, databases, periodicals, books, and websites that focus on Islam in Europe during the last three decades. Readers should note that in addition to this guide, several comprehensive bibliographies have been published on the subject: Jochen Blaschke’s Muslims in Europe: A Bibliography (Berlin: Edition Parabolis, 2002), Robert Goehlert’s Muslims in Contemporary Europe: A Guide to Selected Resources in English (Bloomington: Center for the Study of Global Change, Indiana Univ., 2006), and Jürgen Jensen’s Africans in Europe: A Bibliography, Interethnische Beziehungen und Kulturwandel, Vol. 51 (Münster: Lit, 2002). None of these, however, are annotated. It should also be noted that the current political environment in much of Europe supports the conflation of Islam with Islamic fundamentalism and the conception of all Muslims in Europe as immigrants. Researchers should be aware that some of the materials available reflect this confusion, and they should find sources that account for the level of diversity among Muslims in Europe.

Several methods and tools were employed in the identification and selection of the items for this guide. Reference sources were located by browsing the shelves of Indiana University Bloomington libraries and using standard reference sources such as American Reference Books Annual, Booklist, Choice, College & Research Libraries, and Reference & User Services Quarterly. Books were identified using Choice, Public Library Catalog, WorldCat, and book reviews in scholarly journals, and were selected on the basis of their relevancy, their citation count according to Arts and Humanities Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index, the number of library holdings, favorable reviews, reputation of the publisher, and date published. Databases were selected on the basis of the number of relevant items they indexed on the topic, and journals were selected on the basis of the frequency at which they published relevant articles. The Web resources, which were found by searching Google and Intute, were evaluated on the basis of their authority and the depth of information they provide.

References Sources

The following sources are ideal for preliminary research as they are concise and provide accessible, general overviews of current developments in Islam in Europe. Most of the entries include a bibliography or further reading suggestions.

Cook, Bernard A., ed. Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 2001 (ISBN: 978-0-8153-1336-6).
The entry “Muslims in Europe” traces the history of Muslim immigration to Europe post–1945 and briefly discusses main groups of Muslims in France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and the Balkans, with attention to differences between Muslims in Western and Eastern Europe. The entry concludes with a discussion of issues such as laws, integration, education, and Islamic identity.

Ember, Melvin, Carol E. Ember, and Ian Skoggard, eds. Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World. New York: Kluwer/Plenum, 2004 (ISBN: 978-0306-48321-9).
One notable entry in this source by the highly cited Pnina Werber, “Pakistani Migration and Diaspora Religious Politics in a Global Age,” discusses Pakistani migration and Pakistani–British community from World War II to the present, with a section titled “Islam, the Rushdie Affair, and the Development of a Diasporic Consciousness.” The other relevant entry in the encyclopedia is “Turks in Germany,” which gives a recent history starting with the employment of labor migrants in the early 1960s and includes a section on religious beliefs and practices.

Bearman, Peri et al., eds. The Encyclopaedia of Islam. 2nd edition. 12 vols. Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill, 2006. Brill Online.
The entry “Muslimūn (A.), Muslims” includes the sections “The Old-Established Communities of Eastern Europe” and “Migrant Muslims in Western Europe,” which provide excellent historical overviews, country profiles, and a breakdown of the demographics of each. There are thorough country profiles of Poland, Finland, Hungary, Rumania, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Yugoslavia, France, Great Britain, West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Scandinavia, and the countries of Southern Europe.

Esposito, John L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Pr., 2003 (ISBN: 978-0-19-512558-0).
This dictionary includes entries that present a short, broad overview of Islam in Europe, as well as in France, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Germany, Great Britain, the Balkan States, Albania, and Turkey. There are numerous other related entries that will provide quick reference.

Frucht, Richard, ed. Encyclopedia of Eastern Europe. New York: Garland, 2000 (ISBN: 978-0-8153-0092-2).
The entry “Muslims” gives a brief overview of the following areas: Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, and Kosovo.

Print version (Adobe Reader required)
In this, my final column as RUSA President, I am taking some time to reflect on my career as a reference librarian. I guess you could say that I am probably in the declining years of my career. I am over fifty and have been a reference librarian since 1980—you do the math. So I wanted to reflect on some very basic questions, such as why did I became a reference librarian? what or who have been my greatest influences? and of course, what is the future of reference?

The Most Frequently Asked Questions—Redux

I have worked in the same library for twenty-seven years. When I first started, I told my students in my classes that there were three questions asked most frequently in the library. So, to relieve their suspense, I would just tell them the answers.

1. Where is the pencil sharpener? (At the circulation desk.)
2. Where is the photocopier, and how much do the copies cost? (In the front lobby, and 5 cents.)
3. Where are the restrooms? (Go downstairs, turn left and left again.)

Today, my most frequent questions are almost the same. The pencil sharpener question has been replaced by users needing assistance with printers. I still get asked about the photocopier costs, but the answer is more complicated: currently 15 cents after purchasing a copy card (40 cents) with a single dollar bill. The bathroom question and answer remains the same. After reading Lorraine J. Pellack’s recent RUSQ editorial, “First Impressions and Rethinking Restroom Questions,” and the comments that her article generated on the RUSQ website I agree that a polite, friendly, and quick response to this question is essential to forming positive impressions of your services.¹

Why I Became a Librarian

I became a librarian because I loved solitary studying in libraries while a college student. The library, as a place, was very comforting to me. As a child, I would go to the Norwalk Public Library—a Carnegie library—which still stands on Main Street in this Victorian town in Ohio. The library was right next to the A&P grocery store, so when we went for our weekly groceries on Friday evening, we also picked up new books. As I got older, I could easily ride my bike to the library. Then as a teen, when it was no longer socially acceptable to be seen riding a bike downtown, it was not too far to walk. Libraries were a familiar, comfortable, and safe place with so many interesting books! I could be easily attracted by different areas of the library, just as today I am so fascinated by searching the Web.

As an undergraduate at Eastern Kentucky University, I practically lived in the library. I was majoring in history, political science, and education, all areas where you had to write many papers. I went to the library for instruction classes, but I rarely asked reference librarians for help. In grad school, as a political science student at Miami University, I got my own carrel and set up shop. It was easy to live in that library because they had great vending machines in the basement where I would go to socialize, snack, and get right back to work. They had long hours too! As a grad student, I did consult the reference librarians, who were always friendly and helpful. I do not ever remember leaving the reference desk without knowing where I was going next. I was a happy and satisfied user.

Once I made my decision not to pursue a PhD in political science, I considered my options, and becoming a librarian just made so much sense. I loved to search for information and I loved being in libraries. So off to library school I went.

The Challenges of Being a Library School Student

Once I went to library school at Kent State, I also lived in the library; it was a satisfying habit by then. They too gave me a carrel and I sought out reference librarians for assistance. They were mostly friendly. Do you remember, however, the way you felt as a library school student asking questions of reference librarians when you were taking your first reference courses? You think that because you are going to be a librarian, maybe you should not ask questions of the real librarians? And when you do ask questions, you sometimes perceive that the librarians might just be a little testy about answering your questions because, after all, you are a library school student and shouldn’t you already know how to answer your own questions? Why is there always that tension between library school students and reference librarians? I was recently asked this very question from a brand new library school student during a presentation at the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University. I told the future librarian the following: “Please do ask the librarians as many questions as you can and on every occasion that you need to!” I believe that not only does this exchange provide the student with direction, but it also lets them observe the librarians’ differing styles and approaches to discovering information. The reference transaction is a teaching tool, especially for those who will be doing the answering in the future.

On the Importance of Catalogers

I became a reference librarian because there was no other job I wanted more in the field. Being a cataloger was a contender, however. Today I still believe that you cannot be a good reference librarian without understanding the basic tenets of cataloging. I have a great deal of respect for catalogers. Once, while teaching a reference class in a library school, I was horrified to learn that cataloging was no longer a basic requirement. I proceeded to give my students a basic lecture on cataloging, subject headings, and different classification systems. They were even unfamiliar with the bright red Library of Congress Subject Headings, a tool I have always cherished. Today, even though we have cloud tags and metadata, you still must be able to tell users how to actually find a book on the shelf or the Web. I, for one, am not yet ready to abandon classification systems.

Who Have Been My Greatest Influences As a Reference Librarian?

The Early Years

I suppose some of my first influences and perceptions about librarians came as a small child. I visited the library often and read many books, even getting a prize for reading the most books over the summer between fifth and sixth grade. The children’s librarian, Carol Newton, was very tall, had a big smile, an extra loud laugh, and showed me the world of books. In junior high, I was elected the vice president of the library club and worked in the library. The librarian, Myra Carpenter, was caring, always very clever, and a wonderful inspiration. She could shush with the best. We kept in touch, and after library school she lent me copies of American Libraries to aid in my first job search.

Print version (Adobe Reader required)
The human body is composed of multiple sensory modalities, and each of them engages a different part of the brain when stimulated. A common assumption of learning theory is that individuals prefer some sensory paths over others for learning, hence the distinction between kinesthetic, verbal, visual, and aural learners.¹ Multiple intelligences and learning style theory suggest that teachers engage the widest variety of learners in the classroom by offering differentiated instruction using multiple sensory cues. Research also suggests that all learners benefit from multiple sensory stimuli in learning regardless of their learning preferences because the brain operates at its best in complex environments. We know the brain is “designed” to process many inputs at once—in fact, it actually prefers it so much, a slower linear pace actually reduces understanding.² Thus a differentiated learning environment that activates multiple sensory paths not only accommodates the particular learning preferences of individuals, it also enhances learning for everyone.

Aural learners prefer learning through hearing. They are particularly receptive to auditory stimuli that involve tone, rhythm, and pitch. Recommendations for providing aural stimuli in the classroom often have been confined to using music as a memorization device (singing the alphabet, for example) or playing background music to enhance the general learning environment. This article will suggest more meaningful ways to use music to teach information literacy (IL) skills and demonstrate that incorporating music is an excellent means for adding interest, variability, and inquiry learning into IL instruction.

Extending Classroom Learning with Music

Because of the constraints on information professionals’ access to learners, IL instruction often occurs in brief, standalone sessions, sometimes called “one-shots” in the literature.³ The one-shot instructional session is a convenient format conducive to the thinly stretched schedules of professors, librarians, and students; however, it has several drawbacks. Incorporating music into IL instruction may ameliorate some of those drawbacks by providing a creative and efficient means for stimulating an additional sensory path to engage the brain in learning.

The first drawback of the one-shot session is time. The traditional fifty to seventy-five minutes allotted for instruction is hardly conducive to achieving complex IL learning outcomes. Kenny calls the one-shot a “trailer for the full-length feature … the ultimate goal for a one-shot … session is to have students actively engage with the librarians and library resources to provide a glimpse into the many ways the library supports student learning.”⁴ Librarians often find their teaching methods constrained by time and struggle to address IL beyond the skills-building level of training. A common cultural construct, such as music, is useful in providing starting points for analogy and metaphor building, which increases conceptual learning.

While neither the instructor nor the students may have formally studied music, human beings are inherently musical. Studies have shown that rhythmic intelligence is the first of the intelligences to develop: The rhythm of the maternal heart beat and other external sounds, such as music, penetrate the womb and stimulate fetal response.⁵ By the age of one, children of all cultural backgrounds engage in spontaneous singing (prior even to attaining language), and by age five they are already familiar with musical patterns and recognize when unexpected musical events occur.⁶ Most students, even international students, have grown up surrounded by examples of Western music, from “Happy Birthday” to the international reach of pop music to the near-ubiquitous Christmas carols. By making connections to music, a subject with which students are already familiar, librarians help students extend their knowledge base more expediently. Alternating between discussions of the abstract concepts (illustrated with musical examples) and concrete applications (e.g., a demonstration of database searching on a topic of interest) enables an efficient, but more conceptually complex, treatment of IL content.

The second problem of the one-shot instructional session is retention and recall. When students are bombarded with information during a brief amount of time—particularly through a single medium, such as lecture—their retention is understandably low. The link between music and memory enhancement is clear. It is astonishing how well people remember songs from the distant past in contrast to people’s retention of other types of information. Alzheimer’s research provides evidence of the music’s powerful connection to the brain.⁷ Even severely demented patients have a positive response to familiar tunes, indicating that musical memory is deeply rooted. Memory appears to be enhanced by music because it involves the whole brain; when engaged with a song, the left brain (which handles language, logic, mathematics, etc.) processes the lyrics, while the right brain (which handles rhythm, rhyme, pictures, emotions, etc.) processes the music. This is particularly useful for college students, who are accustomed to interacting with information in multiple formats and through a variety of simultaneous stimuli.⁸

Addressing Information Literacy Standards through Music

The Association of College and Research Libraries’(ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education provide the framework for IL instruction in most academic libraries.⁹ These standards provide a natural framework for designing IL instruction. What follows will demonstrate how music can be used to teach the core IL competencies described in the ACRL standards typically addressed by librarians.

The first standard asks that the student know that there is an information need and to determine its extent. Concepts that are included under this heading include the ability to distinguish between primary and secondary sources, to understand the potential audience of an information source, and the ability to reevaluate the information need.

One set of musical examples to illustrate the difference between primary and secondary sources is to contrast two recordings of Handel’s “Music for the Royal Fireworks.” Originally written for an assortment of winds and percussion to achieve a military sound (24 oboes, 12 bassoons, 9 trumpets, 9 horns, and 3 timpani), today it is most frequently played as a work for the modern orchestra. Most students will have a strong preference for one recording over the other; presumably they will be more comfortable listening to the sounds that are more familiar. While the recordings are being played, the instructor might require the students write a few words or a one-minute paper describing each piece. The answers could be tallied on the board and a consensus reached. Then the instructor could provide some background about the two works and their instrumentation and compare them to information sources. Once the instructor shifts the focus from which piece the students prefer hearing to which one represents a historically accurate performance, the results should swing from one to the other.

The second ACRL IL competency standard requires students to use information retrieval systems effectively. To achieve this goal, students must formulate a search strategy, understand subject-specific and controlled vocabulary, and perform a search across multiple interfaces.

The use of controlled vocabulary can be highlighted by contrasting two works of Western classical music. A Mozart symphony will have a very different vocabulary than a work by the serialist composer Anton Webern. In some compositions, Webern used matrices and mathematical models to determine pitch sequences. This freed him from tonality, the familiar concept of using scales and harmony to determine pitch sequences. Research indicates that at age five, the human brain has a natural understanding of harmonic progression in the same way that an implicit understanding of language has already been formed.¹⁰ Webern’s serial compositions, constructed almost randomly, are devoid of the harmonic meaning normally found in Western classical music.

Print version (Adobe Reader required)
Since 1944, the Notable Books Council has annually selected a list of 25 very good, very readable and at times very important fiction, nonfiction and poetry books for the adult reader. Books may be selected because they possess exceptional literary merit; expand the horizons of human knowledge; make a specialized body of knowledge accessible to the non-specialist; have the potential to contribute significantly to the solution of a contemporary problem; and/or present a unique concept.

Fiction

Jessica Anthony. The Convalescent. McSweeney’s. $22 (ISBN 978-1-934-78110-4).
Rovar Pfiegman, bus-dwelling meat salesman, fulfills his destiny as the last of his clan in this oddly imaginative tale.

Margaret Atwood. The Year of the Flood: A Novel. Doubleday/ Nan A. Talese. $26.95 (ISBN 978-0-385-52877-1).
In the near future, two women survive an apocalyptic event in a queasily enthralling work.

Nicholson Baker. The Anthologist: A Novel. Simon & Schuster. $25 (ISBN 978-1-416-57244-2).
Poet Paul Chowder, a charming failure, struggles to regain his muse and his girlfriend while watching deadlines slip by.

Dan Chaon. Await Your Reply: A Novel. Ballantine. $25 (ISBN 978-0-345-47602-9).
This chilling exploration of the modern meaning of identity follows three people on the fringes of society.

Chris Cleave. Little Bee: A Novel. Simon & Schuster. $24 (ISBN 978-1-416-58963-1).
The compelling voice of a refugee illuminates the life-changing friendship between two women that began with a horrifying encounter on a secluded Nigerian beach.

Pete Dexter. Spooner. Grand Central. $26.99 (ISBN 978-0446-54072-8).
A boy struggles to navigate the vagaries of the world with the lifelong guidance of his stepfather in this funny and heartbreaking tale.

Paul Harding. Tinkers. Bellevue Literary. $14.95 (ISBN 9781-934-13712-3).
In this lyrical novel, the life of a dying man is examined through the smallest moments of time and memory.

Yiyun Li. The Vagrants: A Novel. Random House. $25 (ISBN 978-1-400-06313-0).
The execution of a dissident woman reverberates through her small town in the aftermath of China’s Cultural Revolution.

Colum McCann. Let the Great World Spin: A Novel. Random House. $25 (ISBN 978-1-400-06373-4).
Phillipe Petit’s highwire walk between the Twin Towers provides the backdrop for this rich portrait of the unlikely connections between a group of New Yorkers in the 1970s.

Toni Morrison. A Mercy: A Novel. Knopf. $23.95 (ISBN 9780-307-26423-7).
Four women—white, mixed race, black, and Native American—become a makeshift family under the care of a “good” man in colonial America.

Richard Powers. Generosity: An Enhancement. Farrar. $25 (ISBN 978-0-374-16114-9).
In this postmodern indictment of the biotech industry, a student’s unnerving happiness seems to hold the key to banishing despair from the human genetic code.

Colm Tóibín. Brooklyn: A Novel. Scribner. $25 (ISBN 978-1439-13831-1).
A young Irish woman faces heart-wrenching decisions in this unabashedly romantic and deceptively simple story of immigration and belonging.

Nonfiction

Dave Cullen. Columbine. Twelve. $26.99 (ISBN 978-0-44654693-5).
This fine work of investigative journalism challenges the myths and misconceptions of the Columbine tragedy.

Dave Eggers. Zeitoun. McSweeney’s. $24 (ISBN 978-1-93478163-0).
This powerful account explores the devastation of post–Katrina New Orleans through the eyes of a Syrian American who remained during the storm and endured the resulting chaos and confusion.

David Finkel. The Good Soldiers. Farrar. $26 (ISBN 978-0374-16573-4).
An embedded reporter describes the human cost paid by a U.S. Army battalion on the streets of Iraq in language that is searing, visceral, and immediate.

David Grann. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. Doubleday. $27.50 (ISBN 978-0385-51353-1).
An intrepid reporter sets out to uncover the mysterious fate the last of the great Victorian explorers in this thrilling adventure.

Emmanuel Guibert. The Photographer: Into War-torn Afghanistan with Doctors without Borders. First Second. $29.95 (ISBN 978-1-596-43375-5).
Using mixed visual media, this stunning memoir vividly depicts the struggles and accomplishments of a humanitarian mission in an unforgiving terrain.

Richard Holmes. The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science. Pantheon . $40 (ISBN 978-0-375-42222-5).
This lively, stellar group biography animates the engrossing accounts of the research that inspired a sense of awe in poets and scientists alike.

Patrick Radden Keefe. Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream. Doubleday. $27.50 (ISBN 978-0-385-52130-7).
Human trafficking and its subsequent effects on the American economy and social structures are documented in this fast-paced panoramic expose.

Christopher McDougall. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. Knopf. $24.95 (ISBN 978-0-307-26630-9).
One journalist’s quest to discover the secrets of the reclusive Tarahumara Indians leads to an exciting and dangerous endurance race.

Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman. Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath. Farrar. $30 (ISBN 978-0-374-27260-9).
In-depth, brutal, and moving, this narrative provides multiple perspectives into a tragic World War II episode in the Philippines.

Lainey Salisbury and Aly Sujo. Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art. Penguin. $26.95 (ISBN 978-1-594-20220-9).
This enthralling page-turner describes how archivists uncovered one of the most extensive frauds in recent art history.

David Small. Stitches: A Memoir. Norton. $24.95 (ISBN 9780-393-06857-3).
Stark drawings give voice to the horrors of a child who finds redemption in art while growing up in a repressed and disturbed family.

Nicholas Thompson. The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War. Holt. $27.50 (ISBN 978-0-805-08142-8).
The remarkable half-century friendship and rivalry between two influential strategists who helped shape American policy is brought to life in this insightful dual biography.

Poetry

Sherman Alexie. Face. Hanging Loose. $18 (ISBN 978-1931-23670-6).
Autobiographical poems experimenting with various styles and forms explore childhood, fatherhood, and the trials, perks, and humor of minor celebrity.

Stephen Dunn. What Goes On: Selected and New Poems 1995–2009. Norton. $24.95 (ISBN 978-0-393-06775-0).
Completely accessible poems written in ordinary language deal with cats, love, barfights, desire, melancholia, and relationships.

Notable Books, 2010, committee members are Alicia Ahlvers, chair, Kansas City Public Library; Susie Brown, Shaker Heights Public Library; Julie Elliott, Indiana University–South Bend; Lucy Lockley, St. Charles City-County Library District; Valerie Taylor, Lewisville Community Library; Elizabeth Olesh, Nassau Library System; Jessica Pigza, New York Public Library; Nancy Pearl; A. Issac Pulver, Saratoga Springs Public Library; Heather Robideaux, Fayetteville Public Library; Nonny Schlotzhauer, The Pennsylvania State University; and Andrea Slonosky.

Print version (Adobe Reader required)
The 2010 list of Outstanding Reference Sources for small and medium-sized libraries has been announced by RUSA. The titles, selected by the RUSA Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) Reference Sources Committee, represent high-quality reference works that are suitable for small and medium-sized public and academic libraries.

The Selections for 2010

Archaeology in America: An Encyclopedia. Ed. Francis P. Mc-Manamon. 4 vols. Greenwood, 2009. $499.95 (ISBN 9780-313-33184-8).

Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-First Century. Ed. Paul Finkelman. 5 vols. Oxford Univ. Pr., 2009. $495 (ISBN 978-0-195-16779-5).

Encyclopedia of Modern China. Ed. David Pong. 4 vols. Scribner’s, 2009. $495 (ISBN 978-0-684-31566-9).

The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars: A Political, Social and Military History. Ed. Spencer C. Tucker. 3 vols. ABC-Clio, 2009. $295 (ISBN 978-1-85109951-1).

Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy. Ed. J. Baird Callicott and Robert Frodeman. 2 vols. Gale Cengage, 2008. $280 (ISBN 978-0-028-66137-7).

Encyclopedia of Human Rights. Ed. David P. Forsythe. 5 vols. Oxford Univ. Pr., 2009. $595 (ISBN 978-0-195-33402-9).

Social Explorer, an online reference resource.

Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows through 2007. Thomas S. Hischak. McFarland, 2009. $295 (ISBN 978-0-786-43448-0).

American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in U.S. History. Ed. Gina Misiroglu. 3 vols. Sharpe Reference, 2009. $299 (ISBN 978-0-765-68060-0).

Encyclopedia of Gender and Society. Ed. Jodi O’Brien. 2 vols. Sage, 2009. $350 (ISBN 978-1-412-90916-7).

Encyclopedia of Marine Science. Ed. C. Reid Nichols and Robert G. Williams. Facts on File, 2008. $85 (978-0-81605022-2).

The RUSA CODES Reference Sources Committee 2009–10 members are Jacalyn Kremer, chair, Fairfield University; Cynthia Crosser, University of Maine; Anne-Marie Davis, University of Washington; Denise Goetting, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Patricia L. Gregory, St. Louis University; Danise Hoover, Hunter College; Deborah Fay Katz, Washington University; Peggy A. Keeran, University of Denver; and Patricia J. Wall, University City Public Library.

Print version (Adobe Reader required)
This study assessed student use of and satisfaction with the WebFeat federated search tool, which was implemented by the library at Sam Houston State University. Students voluntarily responded to an electronic survey, providing feedback on how often they conducted class research using the federated search tool, individual databases, and online search engines and how well each search tool satisfied their class research needs. The study found a high rate of federated search use but only moderate satisfaction; for most students, federated search did not replace individual databases and online search engines, which also saw frequent use for class assignments. Federated search use was highest among lower-level undergraduates, and both use and satisfaction declined as student classification rose. Classification—which can be seen as the amount of experience in an academic environment—played a larger role in federated search use and satisfaction than did age or subject area of study. Students have almost unlimited avenues through which to gather information for conducting research, both in libraries and online. Recent years have seen an increase in the quantity and popularity of free Web-based resources, such as Wikipedia. Regardless of the comparable quality of data, these tools present information in a simple, user-friendly way and require little formal knowledge of information organization and searching techniques. Such straightforward simplicity attracts many students, and academic libraries face challenges in capturing and keeping students’ attention to assist them in finding authoritative and appropriate research materials in the library.

Background

Federated search systems—alternatively called metasearch systems—aim to search a collection of databases from one interface and present one set of results, thereby reducing the amount of time and energy that a researcher must invest in learning and using individual database interfaces.

Although federated search systems are, conceptually, an ideal way to simplify the search process, in practice they often suffer from certain weaknesses, including slowness, fewer advanced search refinements, and poor integration of results from multiple sources. Many problems stem primarily from a lack of consistency between database systems. However, despite such common weaknesses, federated search systems can provide a relatively quick and simple mechanism for conducting a broad search of multiple resources in one step.

In spring 2007, several teams of students in John Newbold’s class in strategic marketing management at Sam Houston State University (SHSU) were given the assignment of producing a marketing plan for the university’s Newton Gresham Library. Some of the teams surveyed students on campus, asking how the library could better market its online resources, while other teams relied on their own preferences and suggestions.

The opinions from the teams and survey respondents showed a desire for a more Google-like approach to searching library resources; students were accustomed to using Google and other Internet search engines to search once and retrieve a single, simple list of results from many websites, ranked by relevancy. That familiarity created the expectation that the library should provide a similar capability for quick, convenient academic research. In response to this finding, the Newton Gresham Library researched metasearch options and finally implemented the federated search product WebFeat, which was marketed on the library’s website under the name E-Z Search.

The federated search tool was released in a beta version on the library website in August 2007. E-Z Search was marketed through the library website, library instruction sessions, and handouts available at the library reference desk. In addition to the new E-Z Search tool, students still had access to the library’s online catalog (branded Sam-Cat) and the native search interfaces for approximately 180 subscription databases. After about six months of use, the library collected information about how many users were searching with E-Z Search and whether it was satisfying their academic search needs. The library conducted the inquiry through an electronic survey, which was designed to answer the following questions:

1. Which students are using E-Z Search? How are they using it, and how often?
2. How do students perceive E-Z Search, and how well does it satisfy their academic search needs?
3. In student opinions, how does E-Z Search compare to other library search tools (the online catalog and individual database interfaces) and Internet search engines?

This article highlights the Newton Gresham Library’s findings concerning the use and perception of the E-Z Search federated search implementation.

Literature Review

Much of the literature on federated search discusses creating and implementing federated search tools and compares various tools and usability studies.¹ At the time this article was written, there was not a large pool of quantitative data about user desires and satisfaction with federated searching in an academic environment.

Students have multiple tools at their disposal when conducting research for academic purposes, including their library’s catalog and databases as well as websites and Internet search engines. The Electronic Publishing Initiative at Columbia (EPIC) online survey concluded that almost 50 percent of students started searches for class assignments using a commercial search engine.² Jillian R. Griffith’s research found that “45 percent of students use Google as their first port of call when locating information, with the university library catalogue used by 10 percent of the sample.”³ Helen Laurence and William Miller believe that this is because “library patrons expect to find it all in cyberspace …, but for the purposes of academic research, such expectations are unrealistic and even dangerous.”⁴

Libraries have tried adapting to the expectations of users by providing a single search box interface that mimics popular Internet search interfaces. Morgan asserts that commercial web-sites’ characteristics, such as aesthetics and navigation, are the benchmarks that patrons use to judge the viability of a federated search interface.⁵ Students want a simple interface, and they have no desire to read instructions before starting a search.⁶ For instance, Google does provide advanced tools for more experienced searchers, but an individual with only average or limited search experience can begin searching with Google almost instantaneously; it requires virtually no instruction to begin searching and interpreting results. In fact, Jung et al. concluded that providing interfaces similar to commercial search engines is crucial to getting undergraduates to use federated searches because their familiarity will increase their confidence in starting their search. Users also expect relevance, speed, and spell-check functions that are comparable to popular search engines.⁷

Print version (Adobe Reader required)
This paper describes the experience of three sophomore English composition classes that were required to visit the reference desk for class credit. Student perceptions of reference consultations are analyzed to gain a clearer understanding of the students’ attitudes toward reference services. Findings of this exploratory study indicate that students suffer from library anxiety and are much more likely to seek out reference help if they are convinced that a consultation will save them time.

As an English composition instructor and an information literacy librarian who collaborate to teach sophomore classes, we want our students to take full advantage of the library’s reference services. However, it has become painfully evident to us that including the following “tip” on college composition assignment descriptions will not result in student action: “Our class librarian is available for help in locating sources for your research paper.” Though students will nod in fascination as the course instructor delivers her spiel about librarian expertise—explaining such baffling concepts as “Boolean,” “peer-reviewed,” and “discourse community”—we have come to realize that neither discussing nor writing about this largely untapped resource actually spurs student initiative. Nunberg’s observation that “most people will fall back on perfunctory techniques for finding and evaluating information online” is validated in our experience every semester.¹ We have concluded that where there is no will to consult a librarian, there is no way it will happen.

Recent research corroborates our experience in the classroom and library. During a library study on subject searching in the library catalog, students who had conducted unsuccessful searches were asked what they would do next to locate the information they needed.² Though they were searching the library catalog in a library, not one student mentioned asking a librarian. This is just another example of a larger trend. Librarians are being asked less and less for help. According to the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), reference transactions have dropped 51 percent since 1991.³ In recent years there have been many debates about the nature and utility of the reference desk, largely in response to declining reference statistics. Libraries have attempted to combat this decrease in demand by offering reference services in new ways. Librarians have experimented with new forms and technologies to conduct reference consultations. Some reference desks have entirely disappeared; some have merged with other library service points. While reference librarians have many different views about what a reference consultation should or could be and what role the reference desk should play, our study focuses on students’ attitudes. In light of falling reference desk transactions, do students perceive one-on-one consultations with a reference librarian as useful?

To answer this question, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study at Utah State University (USU). USU is a land-grant university with roughly fourteen thousand students enrolled full-time. For our study, USU students in three sophomore English composition classes received classroom library instruction and were then required to visit the reference desk on their own. After completing the reference consultation, they filled out an informal anonymous survey about their experience. All participating students were from classes taught by the same instructor and librarian. In addition to informing the debate and experimentation surrounding the reference desk, and describing the reference desk consultation assignment, our study’s primary objective is to assess student perceptions of reference interview transactions. A clearer understanding of students’ attitudes toward reference services is a necessary step toward theorizing strategies for reversing the downward trend.

Literature Review

Many published studies have focused on students’ perceptions of reference services. In her 1998 article, Massey-Burzio describes focus groups that were conducted at Johns Hopkins University to gain student and faculty insight into reference services.⁴ Thirty-eight students and faculty members were interviewed, and Massey-Burzio found that patrons were not comfortable asking for help, often found service points unhelpful, and had an overblown sense of their own library skills. She also reported a “lack of interest in [library instruction] classes.”⁵ She recommended that professional librarians be clearly recognizable and better marketed to the campus community. In addition, Massey-Burzio suggested that the “teaching/learning library philosophy as practiced in formal classes” be dropped.⁶ At Central Missouri State University, 201 undergraduates were surveyed concerning their perceptions of reference, and Sandra Jenkins concluded that “students do not have a clear perception of the reference collection or the reference librarian.”⁷ While these studies paint a bleak picture of student perceptions of reference services, other studies indicate that students with more library experience (especially in the classroom) appreciate and understand reference services to a greater degree.

Saunders, analyzing ARL data, found that library instruction actually “increases the demand for reference services.”⁸ In a recent study, Gremmels and Lehmann investigated college students and librarians’ perceptions of learning in reference consultations.⁹ They found that students not only saw reference work as instructional but also “understood the connection between reference instruction and their in-class [library] instruction.”¹⁰ So perhaps the problem is not too much library instruction, as Massey-Burzio postulated, but not enough. Indeed, Fister discussed students’ “fear” in a 2002 Chronicle of Higher Education column and called on librarians and professors to collaborate to create more meaningful reference experiences for students.¹¹

Reference Desk Consultation Assignment

Similar to Fister’s suggestion, in our classes we found that convincing students to value reference librarians’ skills can be accomplished most effectively by incorporating a reference consultation into a larger writing assignment (read with points attached). On their own, students often overestimate their ability to locate credible information. Nunberg makes this point using results from a Pew Project survey in his article “Teaching Students to Swim in the Online Sea”:

There is a paradox in the way people think of the Web. Everyone is aware that it teems with rotten information, but most people feel confident that they can sort out the dross … 87% of search-engine users said they found what they were looking for all or most of the time … [yet] only 38 percent of search-engine users were aware of the difference between unpaid and sponsored search results, and only 18 percent could tell which was which.¹²

The end result of this naiveté in composition classes includes embarrassing reference lists (e.g., “.biz” websites, National Enquirer articles, or the grandmother of them all, Wikipedia entries) or worse: sources that only remotely relate to the research topic.

When hearing that librarian consultations are a required part of the research project, students utter a collective sigh; however, they often comment afterwards that they experienced a “breakthrough” in their information search during the consultation with a librarian, as is evidenced in the following remark from one of our post–assignment surveys:

I didn’t think they [the librarians] could really help but they looked in resources I didn’t know about or consider but yeilded [sic] results… . She [the librarian] was very approachable and helped me find several odd resources relevant that I wouldn’t have found otherwise.

Print version (Adobe Reader required)
This study sought to determine the extent to which the Hesburgh Libraries of the University of Notre Dame meets the needs of its graduate students. It focused on how Notre Dame graduate students found research materials and how useful the Hesburgh Libraries’ collections were in their research and studies. Information gathered through this project indicates the level of usefulness of library resources and collections for one of its main constituents—graduate students. Graduate students’ contacts with the library, regardless of method, were almost always for their own research pursuits, not for faculty research. Graduate students at Notre Dame had more limited contacts with librarians and with library outreach research services. Most respondents (62.8 percent) preferred to use remote access to obtain copies of electronic items identified as relevant to their research. Across the board, however, graduate students were generally satisfied with the various library services. The survey showed that 44.6 percent and 41.1 percent of the respondents rated the library as “very useful” and “useful,” respectively, in their research. The data collected has provided a better understanding of graduate student research behavior, methods of library access, and levels of satisfaction with library resources, which will inform local practices and has the potential to do the same at other institutions of higher learning nationwide.

This study sought to determine the extent to which the Hesburgh Libraries of the University of Notre Dame (ND) meets the needs of its graduate students. It focused on how ND graduate students found research materials and how useful the Hesburgh Libraries’ collections were in their research and studies. The study looked at the following types of questions: What were the information-seeking strategies graduate students employed in research and writing? How did they identify and acquire relevant research materials? What was their level of satisfaction with the library’s collections?

Founded in 1842, ND is a private Catholic university located in Notre Dame, Indiana. The student population is largely an undergraduate one and primarily residential. In 2007 there were 8,451 undergraduate students and 3,362 graduate and professional students.¹ The Graduate School was established in 1918 and offers thirty-two master’s and twenty-five doctoral degree programs.² This study focused on the nonprofessional graduate students.

Literature Review

Locally created user surveys are common at academic libraries. They assist the administration in assessing collections and services and formulating policies affecting library acquisitions and use. Studies show that undergraduates, graduates, and faculty all use the library differently—undergraduates for a place to study, graduates both for a place to study and to make use of the collections and services, and faculty to make use of the collections and services.

Berger and Hines found that Duke University undergraduates were more interested in generalist types of materials (e.g., magazines and newspapers). Faculty more often used “esoteric research publications” (e.g., manuscript materials and conference proceedings).³ “Graduate students, truly in a transitional stage between these two groups, almost always responded in a way which placed them right between the experiences and desires of undergraduates and faculty.”⁴ Gardner and Eng found that undergraduates at the University of Southern California “demand access to information 24/7.”⁵ Further, these undergraduates “expect[ed] convenient, one-stop shopping when it [came] to research.”⁶ Studies by others in academic settings show that faculty were more interested in print books and journals and remote access than were graduate students.⁷

More recently, libraries have begun to use LibQUAL+ to assess user satisfaction via perception of service quality.⁸ LibQUAL+, a survey created by the Association of Research Libraries, measures the user’s perception of library service compared to the user’s expectations.⁹ Hesburgh Libraries used it twice (2002 and 2006) with very positive results in customer service and less favorable results for collections and building facilities. Levels of satisfaction differed between user groups.¹⁰

Method

This study used an online survey to assess graduate students’ relationship with the Hesburgh Libraries. The survey contains quantitative and qualitative questions, as well as options for additional comments. The twenty-question instrument included queries concerning graduate students’ research processes in general as well as their use of the library collections, website, services, and space. It also consisted of questions regarding their level of satisfaction with the various services and collections. The survey was anonymous, although basic demographic data was collected as part of the analysis. Readers of this article interested in seeing the survey can contact the authors for a copy. As mentioned previously, Hesburgh Libraries had used LibQUAL+ in 2002 and 2006. The results from those surveys indicated differences in levels of satisfaction between user groups. The decision to use a newly developed survey for this study was an acknowledgment that researchers cannot rely on one set of methods or one instrument when looking at users and thereby conclude that user needs are or are not being met. The more vantage points a user is viewed from, the more accurate the picture of that user.

The graduate student population (nonprofessional postbaccalaureates) at ND in spring 2008 was 1,861 students, with 64 percent of them pursuing a doctorate.¹¹ It should be noted that the law and business students are not viewed as graduate students by the Graduate School, but are viewed as members of their respective colleges; moreover, these populations are served by their own libraries. For instance, the law library is separate from Hesburgh Libraries in funding and directorship. Response rates for Web surveys of students have been shown to be somewhat lower (21 percent response rate) than for mail surveys (31 percent response rate).¹² It is generally acknowledged that incentives to survey respondents also increase the rate of return.¹³

For this study, the authors sent survey links in an e-mail to all graduate students, excluding law and business school students, via a local electronic discussion list. Two e-mail reminders were also sent. Additionally, students who completed the survey and were interested in winning one of three Apple 80GB iPods could provide their e-mail address (this data was separated from the rest of their survey answers by the software) for entry into a drawing. The survey remained open for two weeks. The authors collected the survey data electronically using open source survey software. The software was set up on the www.nd.edu domain so that students would know the survey was originating from a legitimate source. Unique tokens were generated and e-mailed to the students identified. In addition, security measures were taken to assure that only those receiving tokens would have access to the survey, a token could only be used once, and the anonymity of survey participants was preserved (tokens only identified whether or not an invitee had taken the survey—they did not link survey responses to survey takers). The ND Office of Research’s Institutional Review Board approved this method prior to the start of the project. The authors analyzed the data using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

Findings

As described above, a unique code allowing access to the survey was e-mailed to each of the 1,861 graduate students. Of those, 987 students responded, 920 of which completed the survey. So, 7.7 percent of people who started the survey decided not to complete and submit it. The total response rate was 53 percent (987/1,861), but the response rate for completed surveys was 49.4 percent (920/1,861). Ninety-two percent (920/987) of respondents completed the survey and were entered into the drawing for the three iPods.

Print version (Adobe Reader required)
According to a market survey showing that the public library is the first place many turn when seeking health information, librarians are the front-line workers in consumer health literacy. A consumer health literacy initiative has been undertaken throughout the Pittsburgh public library system to help librarians assure meaningful access to consumers seeking health information. This initiative, the Health Information Fellowship, through which librarians attain their Consumer Health Information Specialist certificate from the Medical Library Association, has had numerous outcomes, including:

• the creation of a new consumer health database and related Web information;
• the design of a staff training module;
• the development of a presentation for consumers, including brochures and pathfinders; and
• positive participant ratings regarding improved familiarity and preparedness with consumer health information in multiple dimensions.

The fellowship is replicable and is currently being spread regionally.

Over the past decade, the United States has experienced a move toward greater consumer involvement in health care.¹ Health care consumers have become more interested and involved in understanding their health issues and needs and in making decisionsregarding treatment options and services.² At the same time, the growth of technology provides a mechanism through which consumers have unprecedented access to health information. The British Medical Journal reported in 1998 that there were a minimum of 100,000 health-related websites available.³ That number has grown exponentially in the ensuing years; a current Internet search for health-related websites with a commonly used search engine provided 268,000,000 sites. While not everyone has access to a computer in the home, it is estimated that between 75 and 85 percent of Internet users have looked online for health information.⁴ The downside to the availability of computers and the accompanying easy access to abundant health information is that not all of the available information is credible, pertinent, or correct. Furthermore, even high-quality information brings with it a need for the consumer to be able to understand and apply the information to their benefit.

Libraries provide computer access for consumers who do not have home computer access; librarians, with the proper training, present an opportunity for consumers to receive help in locating desired health information and in evaluating website credibility, relevance, and applicability.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) define health literacy as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.”⁵ As is pointed out in HHS’s “Quick Guide to Health Literacy and Older Adults,” health literacy requires a number of skills beyond reading, including listening, analysis, and the ability to apply the information that has been acquired to health situations—for oneself or for others.⁶ Knowing where and how to locate health information electronically requires a degree of technical savvy and baseline health care knowledge that many people do not have. The IOM estimates that 90 million people in the United States have difficulty understanding and using health information.⁷ According to the American Medical Association, poor health literacy is “a stronger predictor of a person’s health than age, income, employment status, education level, and race.”⁸ Public libraries provide a no-cost, convenient way to access computers and, potentially, personnel to help the consumer navigate both the technology and the health information accessed. Yet too few public librarians have the training necessary to provide optimal help to consumers who would benefit from such help.

Literature Review

There is a considerable amount of literature describing consumer behavior in searching for health information and describing barriers to locating health information, which include access limitations and the inability to evaluate received information. In a 2002 British Medical Journal study, participants were observed retrieving health information from the Web in a usability laboratory setting. In this study, “no participants checked any ‘about us’ sections of websites, disclaimers, or disclosure statements. In the post-search interviews, it emerged that very few participants had noticed and remembered which websites they had retrieved information from.” The authors concluded that a focus on “guiding consumers to high quality health information on the web” is needed.⁹

Linnan et al., writing in Health Promotion Practice in 2004, found that while two-thirds of adults visit a library yearly, “the interests and training needs of public librarians for assisting the public in accessing health information have not been addressed.”¹⁰ In this random survey, conducted in a county in North Carolina, 84 percent of librarians that completed a questionnaire indicated that they answer “more than 10 health-related questions per week, feel moderately comfortable answering thesequestions, and are very interested in receiving additional training for addressing health related questions.”¹¹ Linnan et al. concluded that creating public library–public health partnerships can enhance the ability of consumers to procure health information.

In 2005, Borman and McKenzie looked at barriers in the reference transaction between librarians and consumers.¹² Their literature review found that “between 6 and 20 percent of total reference requests in public libraries were health-related,” and that “librarians report spending significantly more time with consumer health information (CHI) requests than with other types of reference questions.”¹³ Among the barriers specific to consumer health information, they found that some users are unaware of the services the library provides, users may encounter staff members who are uncomfortable providing assistance regarding health information, and librarians may not be confident about making referrals to community agencies.

Roma Harris and Nadine Wathen, in the 2007 piece “If My Mother Was Alive I’d Probably Have Called Her,” explored how women living in a rural Canadian county located health information.¹⁴ They found that most of the women interviewed seek information from a wide variety of sources, including the Internet, and that the interviewees place great value on the “quality of the relationship with those to whom they turn for assistance.” For these women, “helpers’ perceived effectiveness seemed to depend largely on how well they express care when information is exchanged.” Harris and Wathen proposed that merely expanding the availability of Internet-based health information would not adequately meet the needs of the health information seekers studied; rather, helping local libraries become a health information resource would be a better strategy because of librarians’ potential to provide “an empathetic, listening ear.” Harris and Wathen, in discussing the considerable barriers to improving health through electronic sources (lack of skills, access, trust in sources, interesting presentation of material, and so on) pointed out that while public libraries could have a role in facilitating consumer access to health information, “not all public libraries have specific health information centers, and some librarians feel inadequately prepared to respond to health information requests.”¹⁵

Print version (Adobe Reader required)
In an attempt to determine and compare the nature of virtual reference services in both academic and public libraries outside the United States, we analyzed data compiled from webform transactions e-mailed to and from libraries via the Question-Point virtual reference service. The study reviewed transactions that were handled during a typical week in April 2006 and in April 2008 by twenty-three libraries in ten countries: Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. We analyzed transactions by language, type of institution (public or academic), question type (access, bibliographic, or subject), answer type, subject, and response time, with attention to how these characteristics had changed in two years. The results of the study provide insight into how students and the general public use virtual reference services in various countries and how service efficiency differs among countries and library types.

The use of virtual reference is becoming more prevalent in libraries throughout the world, yet studies of the use of transactions from virtual reference interchanges in non–U.S. countries have not appeared widely in the literature.

In this paper, we use “virtual reference” to mean asynchronous communications between patron and library; we do not address synchronous (or chat) reference. This study is one of the first to examine this aspect of library communication from a multinational point of view for both academic and public libraries. This study is—as far as is known—the first that considers virtual reference use in Belgium, Mexico, or Slovenia.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to discover similarities and differences in virtual reference services in non–U.S. countries. To make these comparisons, we examined such factors as country, language, type of question and answer, subject, response time, and user status.

We also wanted to know if there were any changes of those factors between 2006 and 2008, and if service efficiency (measured by turnaround times) had improved.

Literature Review

We confined our literature search to empirical and case studies conducted in the ten countries under examination here in publications indexed in Library Literature and LISA: Library and Information Science Abstracts since 2000.

Australia

Porter’s discussion of thirty transcripts from a chat reference service aimed at off-campus nursing students at La Trobe University found that 30 percent of the questions asked revolved around document delivery.¹ Lee’s study of forty-seven e-mail and chat reference transactions at Murdoch University measured, among other criteria, turnaround time in answering e-mail (mean delay of six hours) and question and answer types (e-mail questions tended to have a higher proportion of administrative questions than chat and required fewer techniques of the reference interview).² Sullivan analyzed ninety-six question-and-answer pairs from the Bayside Library Ask-a-Librarian service in Victoria and found that 47 percent of the reference questions were classified as research queries.³ Davis and Scholfield’s report on a collaborative arrangement between an Australian and a Scottish library for 24/7 coverage found that such an agreement cut down on the turnaround time of answering e-mail inquiries but found procedural and administrative inquiries hard to deal with.⁴ Davis’ report on an instant-messaging (IM) trial with the National Library of Australia found that 61 percent of inquiries were general reference, 73 percent were completed during the IM sessions, 40 percent ended in ten minutes or less, and 91 percent of users rated the services as “very good” or “excellent.”⁵

France

DiPietro and Calenge, as well as Bazin, discuss the Guichet du Savoir, an online information service offered by the Lyon Municipal Library, but make no comparisons to other libraries.⁶ Nguyen talks about virtual reference from a theoretical perspective and thus eschews any mention of specific virtual library services.⁷

Germany

Simon found that users have trouble locating e-mail reference services on library websites.⁸ In a separate study, Simon analyzed how Chinese and German students use e-mail information.⁹

The Netherlands

Doek talks about the chat service of Bibliothek van de Universiteit van Amsterdam (UVA) (one of the libraries analyzed here).¹⁰

South Africa

Darries found that among the twenty-six academic libraries surveyed, the majority of libraries provided electronic reference service via e-mail and the library website, but these services had low levels of use.¹¹

Sweden

Jonsby studied the Ask the Library service in nineteen public libraries and found that the service’s time limit of three days was appropriate, as most inquiries were answered in the same day; school students were the largest user group; literature topped the field of inquiries (37 percent); and the time it took to answer an inquiry was often longer than it would have been if the user had been present in the library.¹²

The United Kingdom

Davies’ study of four small rural libraries that experimented with replacing all reference books with virtual access found that searching for answers to simple questions online was too inconvenient for users.¹³ Beard, Bottomly, and Geeson’s survey of thirty users of a virtual e-mail reference service at Bournemouth University found that two-thirds of the questions asked were subject-related.¹⁴ Cloughley analyzed the results of ten reference questions sent to three U.S. and two UK free digital reference services and found that the average response time varied from fifteen minutes to sixty-seven hours, correct answers were given at only two of the services, and most did not provide sources.¹⁵ Chowdhury and Margariti found that among five libraries in Scotland, the actual turnaround time for answering e-mail questions was faster than was stated on their webpages and that a great majority of inquiries were “mechanical” questions on how to use IT resources rather than specific subject requests.¹⁶