February 1, 2004 Public Service Collections Directorate Receives Award for Virtual Reference Service

The Library of Congress’ Public Service Collections Directorate received the 2003 Director’s Award at the annual meeting of the Virtual Reference Desk (VRD) conference held in November 2003. The award recognized the contribution of the Library of Congress in creating the Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS), now called QuestionPoint, a global, Web-based network of libraries that provides reference and information services. The CDRS began in June 1999 at the Library of Congress with 16 partner libraries. Its successor, QuestionPoint, has grown to a membership of more than 800 libraries around the world and supports multiple language interfaces.

“I am very pleased that the Library and its staff are being honored for their groundbreaking achievements in the provision of reference service,” said Diane Kresh, director of Public Service Collections and creator of CDRS. “The Library has led the way in global collaboration among libraries and information professionals and has made an important contribution to the field of librarianship.”

The VRD annual conference has earned its reputation as the premier event for digital reference information and products. It consistently attracts recognized leaders in the reference information field and routinely hosts more than 500 library and information professionals from the United States and abroad. The conference offers sessions on reference service management, resource development, current technologies and the latest research in web-based research services.

The Public Service Collections Directorate has led the Library in providing Web-based reference and information services. The staff also provide public service in 15 of the Library's 21 reading rooms and maintain and preserve the Library's 113 million-plus general and special collections. It also processes and catalogs most special-format materials.