ABSTRACT

The traditional reference library, and librarian, continued to be marginalized, to be replaced by new concepts of service such as the virtual reference desk and one-stop shops. 'Information' replaced 'reference' with the development of 'knowledge management' and 'value-added' services, was a personal service element re-asserted. The Library Association provided standards for reference and information services in public libraries, a new edition of which was produced in 1999. These were designed 'to enable each local authority to set service standards appropriately tailored to the needs of their own communities within the national framework'. The concept of the Regional Reference Library cropped up from time to time, and in 1996, Capital Planning Information produced a report as a follow-up to the 1983 study commissioned by Council of City Reference and Information Libraries and carried out by Centre for Research on User Studies.