The Service Tree lists all services in "branched" groups, starting with the very general and moving to the very specific. Click on the name of any group name to see the sub-groups available within it. Click on a service code to see its details and the providers who offer that service.
Library Services
Programs that collect, classify and distribute information about specific topics or problems which requires wide dissemination. Included are specialized information centers and organizations that provide reference assistance for the public regarding a wide variety of general and technical areas. The centers generally offer copies or reprints or allow people to come to the facility to do research but usually do not provide telephone information or refer people to specific resources.
Libraries or other organizations that maintain collections of nonprint literary and artistic materials (films and recordings and the equipment that is required for their enjoyment) which are made available to the community on a loan basis. Audiovisual resources include DVDs, audio books, music CDs and language instruction recordings as well as access to eBooks, eAudio and movie and television streaming services.
Public, academic and special libraries or other organizations that provide online resources and/or search services for people who want to access OCLC's (Online Computer Library Center) FirstSearch collection of databases, the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE, the U.S. Department of Education's ERIC and other databases that contain digitized versions of articles and information from print sources such as magazines, newspapers, journals and reference books as well as music and other content. Lexis/Nexis, Micromedia ProQuest, Ebsco and Gale/Cengage are among the major vendors.
Special Collections and Archives
Public, academic and some special libraries or other organizations that acquire, house and make available to the community for purposes of research or appreciation, rare books, aggregations of printed works or manuscripts on a particular subject or by a particular author; artistic materials by a particular artist or representative of a particular era or style; or other collectibles that are rare, of special interest, of historical significance or of scholarly value. Also included are organizations that acquire, classify and make available to the community on a loan or distribution basis, special document collections or reading materials in a variety of language or special formats which enable people who have visual or hearing impairments or who read in a language other than English to enjoy leisure reading materials and selected nonfiction and reference works. Some collections include materials that require specialized security and user services. Some special collections are standalone institutions that are privately funded, such as the Newberry Library or the American Antiquarian Society while others are part of a larger institution, such as the Beinecke Library at Yale University. Many American university special collections grew out of the merging of rare book rooms and manuscripts departments in a university's library system.