Digital Reference in Slavic and East European Studies with an Examination of Practice at the University of Illinois and the Library of Congress

SUMMARY

This article presents a survey of digital reference trends in the United States with an emphasis on services for Slavic and East European studies. It is based on the author's experience as a Slavic reference librarian at the University of Illinois (Slavic Reference Service) and the Library of Congress (European Division). Topics include the conflict between print and digital resources, coping with electronic serials, full-text databases and websites, digital communication tools such as e-mail, chat, and web forms, the proliferation of websites from Eastern Europe and the NIS, and opportunities for bibliographic instruction via the web. The article concludes with suggestions for keeping current and ideas for possible reference collaboration among Slavic and East European studies librarians.     

Women & Gender in Central and Eastern Europe,Russia, and Eurasia: A Comprehensive Bibliography. 2 vols

ABSTRACT

This article describes how The Search Engine for Online Historical Directories provides enhanced access for genealogical researchers to valuable family information contained in difficult-to-browse directories that have been made available online by institutions that have not provided sophisticated search tools.