Birzeit University Library Reference Policy
Mission:

To help students and staff find answers to questions, identify appropriate source materials, and develop search strategies.

Strategy:

To teach patrons the necessary skills in finding answers to any inquiry. By doing so, we can afford effective reference services.

Goals and services:
  1. To provide reference assistance in library use and research to both the university and local communities.
  2. To provide electronic reference services through the library computer laboratory that is supervised by the reference staff. The laboratory contains computers with access to the Internet, on-line catalog, and CD-ROM databases.
  3. To help patrons effectively use the catalogs (manual and electronic), Internet, CD-ROM databases, and print sources as well as provide them with information regarding the library's collections.
  4. To participate in reference desk service and bibliographic instruction.
  5. To publish the Current Awareness service for selected periodicals.
  6. To index all issues (starting from January 1998) for selected periodicals presently subscribed to by the library. Access to this information is available in the Articles database.
  7. To provide full text articles and printed subject bibliographies from databases which provide such services via the Internet.
  8. To assist the branch libraries with the KOHA system, and to observe them technically.
  9. To conduct short training courses for reserach and graduate students the purpose of which is to inform them about the library's policies and services, and to instruct them how to use the different materials and resources.

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