Rick,

  Yes, the decline in reference transactions has been commented upon. A
succinct treatment of the issues and possible ways to respond may be
found in this 2-part article:

Trends in Reference and Public Services Librarianship and the Role of
RUSA Part One.   By: Zabel, Diane. Reference & User Services Quarterly,
Fall2005, Vol. 45 Issue 1, p7-10.

Trends in Reference and Public Services Librarianship and the Role of
RUSA.   By: Zabel, Diane. Reference & User Services Quarterly,
Winter2005, Vol. 45 Issue 2, p104-107.

  Zabel notes that while the raw numbers are down, questions tend to be
more complex and take more time to answer.

Steve Black
Reference, Serials, and Instruction Librarian
The College of Saint Rose
392 Western Avenue
Albany, NY 12203-1419
blacks@strose.edu
(518)458-5494