The Early History of Reference Service in the United States

Abstract

Modern reference service is marked by four distinctive features: (1) the willingness and ability of librarians generally to give reference aid; (2) a staff devoted exclusively (or largely) to reference work; (3) reference collections stored on open shelves in rooms planned as reference quarters; and (4) ready guides to library resources (such as a dictionary catalogue and a precise scheme of classification).

Citation

KAPLAN, L. (1947), "The Early History of Reference Service in the United States", Library Review, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 286-290. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb012104