Are Reference Desks Dying Out?

By SCOTT CARLSON

Librarians struggle to redefine — and in some cases eliminate — the venerable institution

At the University of California at Merced's library, there is no reference desk and there never has been. The way reference services are delivered there would intrigue some and disturb others.

Consider this example: On a recent weekend, a student asked Michelle Jacobs, one of Merced's librarians, how to get journal articles about child obesity for a political-science paper. Ms.