Ventura County Star, Calif., Roger Harris Column.

Byline: Roger Harris

Oct. 15--Net librarians start new page of information gathering It's 3 a.m. and you're working on the research report that absolutely has to be on the boss's desk in a few hours. Panic starts to set in. You've been surfing the Web for hours looking for critical data that will make or break the report. No luck.

Visions of life in the unemployment line flash across your brain.

Relax. A new 24-hour, seven-day a week online service offered by a consortium of Southern California public libraries will find the information you need.

24/7 Reference was launched a little more than a year ago with funding from the federal …