The changing reference environment and reference staffing have been the topic of several articles in the library literature, discussions at the American Library Association conferences and a recent conference offered twice by Library Solutions Inc. of Berkeley, California, entitled Rethinking Reference. Libraries are looking closely at the model at Brandeis University of eliminating the reference desk and replacing it with an information desk with research consultations with librarians taking place in an office. Larry Oberg urges librarians to stop thinking of the reference desk as a key reason for being a librarian. He contends that paraprofessionals can and do perform well at a reference desk, freeing librarians to concentrate on higher‐level tasks. These discussions and examples demonstrate a variety of solutions academic libraries have taken regarding the changing face of reference, and the evolving roles of reference librarians in moving towards the electronic library. The electronic library brings us new options and new opportunities and as a result librarians need to develop new ways of thinking and organizing reference services.

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With so many options available for answering questions on the network, this guide is intended as a subject-specific tool for reference librarians to use when assisting patrons in retrieving AIDS-related information. It focuses on the major electronic sites, resources, listservs, online journals, and databases on HIV/AIDS that are available free of charge on the network, listed in alphabetical order. The Internet is constantly evolving, and while the resources in this guide have been carefully examined online for content and accuracy, files and sites are continuously being eliminated, added, and updated. Users, therefore, are encouraged to be flexible and adaptable when browsing, and to try new modes of access on the network.

Library management is struggling to improve productivity without reducing the quality of service to its users. With downsizing continuing to be a trend, the implementation of self‐checkout circulation systems may be an important technological investment for libraries to consider. In most large academic institutions, such circulation functions as checking out and renewing library materials have traditionally been performed by staff members. The climate may, however, be right to rethink the mode of service delivery systems and shift from providing full‐service to self‐service models, whereby the patron takes responsibility for checking out his or her own library materials.

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