Outreach has been traditionally associated with public library extension services to neglected user populations such as the rural and urban poor, non-readers, people with disabilities, and people generally discriminated against based on their race, ethnic background, social class, or age, who are in need of special attention. In contrast, academic outreach is a relatively new phenomenon and may have a variety of functions (Cruickshank and Nowak 2001). This view is applicable to outreach service in special libraries like the Illinois Fire Service Institute Library (IFSI Library) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.