ABSTRACT

Fifteen years ago, the choices for mediated electronic reference services were few, and the hardware requirements straightforward. Libraries that provided any online service usually subscribed to one or two online vendors, such as DIALOG and BRS, and accessed these using a dumb terminal at 300-baud. Issues of service at that time revolved around free vs. fee arguments and whether or not any reference librarian had the innate skills to become a good searcher. With the advent of ready reference searching at the desk, public terminals for OCLC and other utilities, end-user products like Knowledge Index, videodiscs, CD-ROMs, electronic full-text, OPACs, regional and national networks, and hypermedia, the electronic world has become an intricately complex array of service possibilities.