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              NAL REFERENCE SERVICE NOW AVAILABLE BY INTERNET
 
Starting May 1, the Reference Section of the U.S. National Agricultural
Library began accepting requests for reference services over the Internet.
The address for requests is [log in to unmask]
 
Services are provided to federal, state, and local government researchers,
scientists, and officials; university and college professors, researchers,
and students; private scientific, business, and agricultural organizations;
foreign government agencies; and the general public.  Most reference
requests are answered without charge, although Keith Russell, NAL's
Associate Director for Public Services, said that comprehensive searches
may require NAL to charge a user fee.  NAL defines comprehensive searches
as those that require NAL to search commercial online databases and exceed
a $25 charge to fill, or those that require more than one hour of the NAL
librarian's time, charged at $11 per hour.  User fees are assessed only
upon prior agreement with the user and are only charged for work over the
one-hour limit.
 
For further information, contact the Reference Branch, Room 111, National
Agricultural Library, 10301 Baltimore Boulevard, Beltsville, MD 20705-2351;
phone 301-504-5204; TDD 301-504-6856, fax 301-504-7098; Internet
[log in to unmask]
 
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