Prepared to provide guidance in the provision of reference service, this statement expresses the understanding between the library administration and the Reference Services Department of Ellis Library at the University of Missouri-Columbia concerning the manner in which the department's responsibilities are to be carried out. The procedures will be used as a manual for orienting new staff members, as well as a source of information for reference staff or library administrators. This manual covers the following: (1) reference services, including goals, ethics, and organization; (2) library users, including guidelines for providing special service; (3) priorities, including service to individual readers, instructional services, and subject specialists; (4) desk service, including a general statement, telephone inquiries, circulation of restricted materials, referrals, donations of books or periodicals, and assisting users at the card catalog; (5) bibliographic services, including those initiated by the reference department and direct user requests; (6) computer-assisted literature searching (LITQUEST), including staff requirements and the various services offered; (7) reference correspondence; (8) orientation and instruction; and (9) the reference collections. Appendices contain the American Library Association (ALA) Statement on Professional Ethics, an organization chart, the ALA Interlibrary Loan Code, Ellis Library Emergency Procedures, and Procedures for LITQUEST Searching. (THC)