ABSTRACT
Considerable attention has been devoted to examining the reference process in libraries in recent years. This increase in critical studies has been due, in part, to a need to understand more fully the fundamental nature of what has long been considered an imprecise, mysterious, almost artistic library function, and to help provide administrative justification for relatively large monetary expenditures for personnel. The library manager’s need to be accountable for expenditures has been, at times, a source of conflict with reference librarians who may have felt threatened by close scrutiny of their work.
