Disinformation,the Exxon Valdez,and the Search for Truth: |
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| Abstract: | Prior investigations have indicated that government documents are a relatively underutilized resource by most librarians. Almost invariably, these studies have been of academic libraries and librarians. It is highly probable that scholars use documents unobtrusively and may be overlooked in many surveys, but it must be assumed that they are assisted in their use by knowledgeable documents librarians. A survey of documents use by public reference librarians serving 25 geographically dispersed population centers revealed that there was substantial awareness and use of U.S. government documents. Respondents indicated that they believed accredited programs in library education should provide reference librarians with the backgrounds necessary to assist with reference questions which concern current, but historical issues. Privatization or the commercialization of federal information sources is discussed as the possible consequence of the lack of knowledge and use of documents which can be used for reference purposes, as opposed to those which provide technical information. A Current Issues Seminar for programs of library education is proposed. Using current issues of the day as examples, the content of a typical seminar is reviewed. |
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