Meet the New Librarian. "Our role has changed," says Donna Bacon, who coordinates the Springfield-Greene County Library District's reference services. "We are spending a lot more time evaluating the information that's available online, in databases and through agencies, organizations, think tanks and other outlets."

The result is unbiased, objective research that's available to online users in a newly designed feature at thelibrary.org. Dubbed "Community Matters" and subtitled "Your guide to information on Springfield and Greene County's most talked-about issues," it contains various topics, each with a succinct overview of the issue, followed by links to background information and, in most cases, relevant community data.

"Our goal is to provide research that will enable patrons to make decisions based on good solid information," Bacon said.

For instance, the entry on the health and safety of vaccines frames the issue in this way: More and more parents are deciding not to have their children vaccinated because of possible links to autism. Is this leading to a public health crisis? Click on "More on this issue" and you'll find background resources as well as articles on the subject, followed by an "In Our Community" link to a document on Missouri school immunization requirements.

"We research the library's online database resources and search out information from reputable local and national groups, university research departments and other sources," said Bacon, who shares research duties with colleagues Victor Kohman, Tammy Flippen, Tysha Shay and Jenny Ertel. "Most often, we avoid the Google searches, preferring to concentrate on primary research that we evaluate for its authenticity and objectivity."

Other recent issues the librarians have researched include autism (what was once thought of as a rare disease is now being diagnosed in one in every 150 children. Why?), an automotive industry outlook (new standards, rising fuel costs and decreasing U.S. sales are forcing auto makers to make some big changes) and the Georgia-Russia conflict (What's the history behind this current conflict?).

New topics coming soon to "Community Matters" include an overview of new state laws, the non-partisan court plan and a voters' guide to the upcoming elections. You can also receive the latest updates to Community Matters through e-mail or an RSS feed.