Public and school libraries having begun as an outgrowth of each other and then separated, have some overlap in philosophy, function, and public served. Although studies have opposed the combined school and public library, communities continue to attempt mergers largely for promise of dollar savings. There is also a philosophical trend in…

Discusses problems of depository libraries such as volume of publications received, understaffing, subject and author/title access, currency of material, financing, and lack of theory and research. An "ideal" access system and an action program for its implementation are described. Four references are listed. (CHC)

Identifies deficiencies in reference services offered by archives and examines factors preventing effective use of archival resources, including changing clientele, organization of collections based on the principle of provenance, and the uniqueness of archival collections. Suggestions for improving public service, including user studies and…

Presents information about the psychological impact of unemployment and emphasizes the importance of aiming public library programs and materials at the appropriate level of user need. A needs-analysis approach to providing information services is proposed, and examples of programs and publications developed in Ontario public libraries are given.…

Explores the increasing demands on resources and services of one large university library by the external community which led to attempts to pass on to the community some of the costs involved in resource sharing, e.g., fees for or reduction of library services, and examines consequences of these changes. (CWM)

This paper discusses the library services that complement growing university and college off-campus programs and specifically centers on the years that fall between the start of such services and the final establishment of a physical satellite library. Suggestions, drawn partly from the literature and primarily from experiences at the University…

Educators in Newfoundland are recognizing the value of media programs and are requesting instructional materials in order to meet the various needs of their students. In response, the Government of Newfoundland made a $5.00 per pupil grant to school districts for the purchase of instructional materials during the 1970-71 school year and has raised…

Examines users' accounts of asking reference questions in Canadian public or academic libraries. Discusses problems, including failure to conduct a reference interview, unmonitored referral, and failure to ask follow-up questions; and considers how the availability of electronic resources, including the Web, has changed reference transactions and…

Discusses kinds of problems public librarians encounter in the process of providing legal and health information. Data are compared from two surveys of reference librarians who provide legal and health information services in Ontario (Canada) public libraries, and implications for collection development are suggested. (17 references) (LRW)

This paper attempts to provide a contextual study of CILA--Centro Interamericano de Libros Academicos--a new scheme for the distribution of scholarly books in the Americas. Because of the scheme's peculiar relevance to the needs of Canadian academic libraries, the status of Latin American studies and relevant library collections in Canada are…

Discusses issues and trends affecting Canadian academic libraries that were major themes at the 1996 Canadian Library Association annual conference in Halifax (Nova Scotia). Topics include government funding decreases; restructuring in education and library services; consortia; library cooperation and collaboration; computer networks; interlibrary…