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I want to acknowledge Barbara Ittner, a former editor at Libraries Unlimited, for extend- ing an invitation to develop a proposal for a new book on trends in reference. She shep- herded the proposal through the review process, helped shape content and direction, and connected us with prospective chapter authors. Emma Bailey expertly carried out the production process at Libraries Unlimited. I am immensely grateful to Lauren Reiter for her willingness to take on this project with me. I want to thank Lauren for her deep think- ing about reference services and for being such an ideal coeditor. This book gave us the opportunity to collaborate with more than twenty talented contributors from a variety of institutions. We thank these very busy authors for finding the time to craft such thought- ful essays. I would like to extend a special thank you to Linda C. Smith for providing the preface. Her participation in this project is especially meaningful to me. She was my advi- sor at the University of Illinois many years ago and has served as an informal mentor and role model throughout my long career. Completion of this book would not have been pos- sible without the support of our home institution. In particular, I want to thank Barbara I. Dewey, Dean, University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, at The Pennsylvania State University. Dean Dewey and our colleagues in the Schreyer Business Library have enthusiastically supported our project. As always, I want to thank my husband (Craig) and son (Zachary) for their encouragement. —Diane Zabel First, I would like to thank Diane Zabel for inviting me to be her coeditor. Diane’s rep- utation in reference and public services and editorial work is unmatched, and I greatly appreciate her mentorship and the opportunity to collaborate on the book. I would also like to thank Barbara Ittner, formerly of Libraries Unlimited, who provided a sounding board and support as we developed the project, and Emma Bailey, who guided us to the finished volume. I am grateful to each of the chapter authors for developing insightful and thought-provoking explorations into reference trends and themes and being willing to share their research and experiences. I would also like to thank Dean Barbara Dewey and the rest of my Penn State University Libraries colleagues for their support. And finally, to Manuel and my parents, thanks for listening. —Lauren Reiter Acknowledgments