Abstracts

"The Confidentiality of Interlibrary Loan Records," The Journal of Academic Librarianship 19: 81-86 (May 1993).

Although professional concern has been directed to the confidentiality of library circulation records, interlibrary loan records have been virtually ignored. The author discusses potential problems for confidentiality within ILL, outlines legal issues related to confidentiality, and proposes guidelines intended to protect library users' right to privacy.

"Closing the Reference Interview: Implications for Policy and Practice," RQ 31: 513-23 (Summer 1992).

Little of the extensive literature on the reference interview discusses the process of closing the interview. Reasons why patrons and librarians decide to terminate the interview are discussed, revealing that many originate in interpersonal or institutional goals unrelated to the provision of exact answers. The author argues the necessity for librarians to develop explicit goals for the reference interview, identifies several policy issues that should be included in any such discussion, and suggests practical steps to improve the closure of interviews.

"The Lean Reference Collection: Improving Functionality Through Selection and Weeding," College & Research Libraries 52: 80-91 (January 1991).

Librarians expend significant amounts of money, time, and space on their reference collections, yet a surprising number state that their collections are full of materials which receive little use. Additionally, a large proportion of academic libraries do not have collection development policies for this important asset. The author discusses this problem and develops a series of guidelines for placing sources in reference, focusing especially on the suitability of the items for true reference functions and the expected frequency of use.

"Undergraduate Use of Government Documents in the Social Sciences," Government Publications Review 13: 415-30 (July/August 1986).

This study investigates the degree of use of government documents by undergraduates in three social science disciplines and considers the reasons for use and nonuse, as well as methods of access to these materials. The results indicate that the frequency of document use was highest among political science students and lowest among history students, and that use was more frequent among seniors and juniors than freshmen and sophomores. Faculty members were seen to present the greatest influence in encouraging the students to use documents. Appropriate considerations for bibliographic instruction are inferred from these results and from responses suggesting typical methods of access to documents made by students.