Morgues No More   

They are no longer "morgues," and most don't have enough books to be considered libraries, so what do you call them? Increasingly it's "news research departments" or "editorial information centers," high-powered terms reflecting the increasing importance of newsroom libraries and their staffs.

Consider Forbes, which until seven years ago housed a library of books and clippings and two computers to search commercial databases. The terminals quickly became what library director Anne Mintz calls "a black hole for expenses" – in one instance, an editor amassed a $1,000 bill while searching Nexis for a Wall Street Journal article, only to learn later that the database didn't include the Journal. Forbes' solution was to hire experienced researchers to oversee the library – in effect, reporters who stay indoors.

Today the Forbes library contains less than 3,000 books. But it does have 13 staffers and 15 computers to access various databases and indices. The operation is so efficient that even editors and reporters trained to use the technology invariably defer to the librarians.

During the last decade most news libraries have undergone a similar transformation. At the New York Times, for example, two librarians are assigned to assist in the newsroom, while at the Raleigh News & Observer, two editors work in the library. And at the Miami Herald, librarian Elisabeth Donovan runs her operation from the city desk, where she gathers background for breaking stories.

Some news outlets make a point of giving bylines to their librarians on important stories (although, according to a recent study, most do not), and some researchers attend editorial meetings. "I consider myself a journalist maybe more than a librarian," says Kathy Foley, the Washington Post's deputy director of information services. "I could not go to work for an insurance company – my heart is in the daily news."

Librarians say the rise of databases especially has increased the importance of their jobs, largely because reporters often suspend their customary skepticism when dealing with electronic material. A 1991 study by researchers at Kent State University found that each of 70 major dailies with electronic libraries reported that researchers regularly contributed to stories.

But if the librarian's duties have expanded dramatically, recognition has not kept pace. When Nora Paul, library director at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, asked 55 editors and reporters at a conference whether they considered librarians "critical partners," only a few raised their hands. The feeling can be mutual. One librarian describes journalists as "prickly"; another decries their "secretiveness," which he believes inhibits them from helping librarians help them.

What librarians call the "reference interview" or the "question negotiation," in which they determine the best way to get the material a reporter needs, is a constant source of tension. Interpreting requests "is an art the same way that interviewing somebody is an art," says Kathleen Trimble, library director at U.S. News & World Report. "The challenge is eliciting a clear idea of the information journalists want in spite of what they're telling you." l

Leslie is a former foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.