DIG_REF bills itself as "A Listserv to explore the growing area of digital reference services." DIG_REF is sponsored by The Virtual Reference Desk @ http://www.vrd.org (A Project of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology and the National Library of Education with support from the Office of Science and Technology Policy). There are over 1,608 subscribers to this Listserv coming mainly from the fields of academic and public libraries.

For the 2 weeks that I have been a subscriber to this email discussion group (2/23/98 - 3/7/98) traffic has been approximately 20 messages a week. Topics covered included ADA accessibility requirements for Internet Web pages, hoax Web sites, conference announcements, and links to Web sites within disciplines and subject areas. I would highly recommend this site to academic/public librarians and distance education professionals.

DIG_REF discussion group can also be subscribed to in digest form (messages sent in a once a week digest). For information on subscribing, go to http://www.vrd.org/Dig_Ref/dig_ref.html . DIG_REF is also archived @ http://www.vrd.org/Dig_Ref/drb.html .

This directory is sponsored by the National Institute for Research Advancement, an international policy issues organization based in Japan. Coverage includes public policy institutes from about 70 countries, including 50 from the U.S. Standard information at this site includes location, executive officer, history and scope, areas of research, and research findings and publications. The November 1997 issue of Choice said that the NIRA site "... is distinguished by its worldwide coverage and detailed descriptions" (p. 452) when compared to other web site think tank directories. Highly recommended for professionals involved in public policy research. The next update of this directory is 1999.