Confessions of a Reference Technophile |
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| Abstract: | The argument that mediated online ready reference searching is an indispensable service is presented. The proliferation of Internet resources, including electronic journals, online catalogs, and other resources creates new user expectations and demands on reference service points. While end-user searching makes sense when a common interface for a multitude of diverse databases is provided, the contemporary version of remote access challenges searchers to tackle nearly every type of vendor product available as well as several homegrown varieties. Until "intelligent systems" can span the diversity of available online systems, librarians may once again find themselves in the role of search mediator that was common when online databases were first introduced while the task of keeping reference librarians apprised of developing electronic resources is formidable, end-user instruction is even more so. Because the diversity of online systems makes it impractical to know each system in very much detail, reference librarians will need to concentrate on developing a better conceptual framework. |
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