Information services. The personal assistance information services staff give to library users to help them obtain information, select library materials of interest, or use library resources. Information services include both reference and readers' advisory service.

Information services staff. Staff assigned to work at information desks throughout HCL.

Interlibrary loan (ILL). A transaction in which library material, or a copy of the material, is made available by one library system to another upon request. The borrowing library then makes the material available to the requesting user.

MARS searches (Machine Assisted Reference Service). Dialog, Dow Jones, and DataTimes searches which are completed at the area libraries by trained information services staff.

Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA). A federation of the public libraries in the metropolitan Twin Cities area organized to provide cooperative services to the participants and to be the administrative agency for receiving and sharing of state and federal grant appropriations made available through the Office of Library Development and Services.

MELSA Library-to-Library Reference Network. A reference service designed to promote the cooperative use of information resources available in the MELSA libraries.

MINITEX Library Network. A publicly supported resource sharing network of academic, public, state agency and special libraries in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Readers' advisory service. Guidance by the information services staff to materials which meet the library user's reading, listening, or viewing interests.

Reference transaction. A request for information which involves theinformation services staff's knowledge, use, recommendation, or instruction in the use of library resources.