Douglas J. Ernest and Lewis B. Herman
In recent years, guides to hiking trails and wilderness areas have enjoyed an increase in popularity. Here, Douglas J. Ernest and Lewis B. Herman evaluate more than 100 such books.
Douglas J. Ernest, Joan Beam and Jennifer Monath
Telephone directories have been an integral part of most public and academic libraries for nearly a century. Telephone directories represent an anomaly among library collections;…
Abstract
Telephone directories have been an integral part of most public and academic libraries for nearly a century. Telephone directories represent an anomaly among library collections; known to virtually all users, they nevertheless often go unrecognized when librarians discuss reference sources. The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to examine the history of telephone directory collections; second, to describe and analyze a survey of telephone directory collection use.
Douglas J. Ernest and Holley R. Lange
With the introduction of optical disc technologies in the mid‐1980s, access to periodical literature has entered a new era. Although librarians perceive inadequacies with some of…
Abstract
With the introduction of optical disc technologies in the mid‐1980s, access to periodical literature has entered a new era. Although librarians perceive inadequacies with some of the new systems and the means by which they deliver information, users have embraced them enthusiastically.
Jennifer Boettcher and Bruce R. Kingma
In the Spring 1992 issue of Reference Services Review, Douglas Ernest, Joan Beam, and Jennifer Monath noted that “Telephone directories have been an integral part of most public…
Abstract
In the Spring 1992 issue of Reference Services Review, Douglas Ernest, Joan Beam, and Jennifer Monath noted that “Telephone directories have been an integral part of most public and academic libraries for nearly a century. Telephone directories represent an anomaly among library collections; known to virtually all users, they nevertheless often go unrecognized when librarians discuss reference sources.” After the break‐up of the AT&T telephone monopoly in 1984, the process of acquiring telephone directories became more difficult and expensive. Seven regional holding companies, called the “Baby Bells,” were created to provide competition for the equipment and services that were once dominated by “Ma Bell.” The regional Bell companies began to charge each other for directories; as a result, the regional telephone companies had to pass on the expense to customers. It is still common for a regional Bell to provide libraries with directories of in‐state white pages, but to charge for areas outside the state, separate yellow pages within the state, and independently published telephone directories. Telephone directories, once provided free of charge to libraries to reduce the workload of operators, are now in competition with the fee‐based service of directory assistance.
Within the past 20 years hiking and backpacking have enjoyed rapid growth among Americans as favorite outdoor activities. From 1965 to 1977 the number of hikers almost tripled…
Abstract
Within the past 20 years hiking and backpacking have enjoyed rapid growth among Americans as favorite outdoor activities. From 1965 to 1977 the number of hikers almost tripled, from 9.9 million to 28.1 million, while national forest visitor days among hikers and mountaineers increased from 4 million in 1966 to 11 million in 1979. Accompanying this growth in interest has been a boom in books about the sport. These include both “how‐to‐do‐it” volumes and guides to specific geographical areas. Each year brings another spate of books, yet to this compiler's knowledge no bibliography of hiking guides to the Rocky Mountains, one of North America's premier outdoor regions, has yet been attempted. This bibliography is an effort to correct that situation.
Douglas J. Ernest, Allison V. Level and Michael Culbertson
Seeks to prove that studies conducted over the past several decades repeatedly indicate that information‐seeking behavior by members of the general public involves consultation of…
Abstract
Purpose
Seeks to prove that studies conducted over the past several decades repeatedly indicate that information‐seeking behavior by members of the general public involves consultation of a variety of potential information sources, including libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
This article focuses on information seeking with regard to recreation activities in wilderness areas including, but not limited to, hiking.
Findings
The study results indicate that respondents do turn to the internet for some of their information needs. Web sites providing information on three hiking areas were also analyzed to determine their accuracy and access to information. The study concludes that information‐seeking behavior on the internet represents investigation of sources that existed in the pre‐internet era but that access has altered from earlier mechanisms, such as paper mail, telephone, or on‐site visits, to electronic investigation.
Originality/value
Libraries continue to represent a potential information source, provided that they take advantage of electronic access.
Details
Keywords
This index accompanies the index that appeared in Reference Services Review 16:4 (1988). As noted in the introduction to that index, the articles in RSR that deal with specific…
Abstract
This index accompanies the index that appeared in Reference Services Review 16:4 (1988). As noted in the introduction to that index, the articles in RSR that deal with specific reference titles can be grouped into two categories: those that review specific titles (to a maximum of three) and those that review titles pertinent to a specific subject or discipline. The index in RSR 16:4 covered the first category; it indexed, by title, all titles that had been reviewed in the “Reference Serials” and the “Landmarks of Reference” columns, as well as selected titles from the “Indexes and Indexers,” “Government Publications,” and “Special Feature” columns of the journal.
Charles Forrest, Karen Chapman and Joyce Wright
Optical discs are having a significant impact on information retrieval in libraries. They provide access to bibliographic and numeric data in an efficient manner, retrieving…
Abstract
Optical discs are having a significant impact on information retrieval in libraries. They provide access to bibliographic and numeric data in an efficient manner, retrieving information in seconds that would take a patron using a printed source much longer to find. InfoTrac, a periodical database produced by Information Access Company, is an example of an application of this technology. The forerunner of the company's General Periodicals Index, InfoTrac consists of a database stored on a laser‐optical videodisc and a microcomputer work‐station for accessing, displaying, and printing the contents of the database.