Comprehensive Digital Reference Service

[Miro Kiss Ida]

LIBRARIES AROUND THE WORLD TEAM UP FOR NET SERVICE
A group of libraries from around the world began testing the
Comprehensive Digital Reference Service, a free service that
will help users find information on the Internet by directing
inquiries to the appropriate library. The Internet often
provides too many search results or questionable information,
and the libraries hope to bring a higher quality of information
online by providing access to their wealth of research collections
and specialized catalogs. A network will route questions to the
library best suited to provide an answer, based on the libraries'
expertise, hours of operation, and other considerations. Although
the group will initially focus on answering questions in English,
the service should eventually accommodate up to 20 languages. The
group, which expects to launch its Web site officially by June,
has about 60 members, including Yale, Harvard, the National
Gallery of Art, the National Library of Australia, and the Duke
University Divinity School.
(Baltimore Sun, 20 November 2000)