This timely special report from ALA Editions provides a succinct but comprehensive overview of the "privatization" of public libraries. It provides a history of the trend of local and state governments privatizing public services and assets, and then examines the history of public library privatization right up to the California…

Discussion groups met to address the following seven problems prominent in the young people's and children's departments of Wisconsin libraries: (1) decline of hardback circulation; (2) stealing and vandalism; (3) facilitating user self-help without fragmenting collections; (4) recruitment and orientation of volunteers; (5) censorship; (6) staff…

This booklet is an attempt to provide librarians with a short summary of the arguments in favor of library photocopying, combined with a status report on how these arguments have fared in the courts and in the United States Congress. Following an analysis of the issues involved, the case of Williams and Wilkins v. the United States is discussed,…

This annual conference, with over 25 speakers and 200 attendees, provided an opportunity for information professionals to discuss their experiences and concerns related to computer networking. The papers presented in this proceedings focus on providing network access, training network users, and incorporating networked information into library…

This report provides a step-by-step look at defining, planning, implementing, operating, and supporting Internet services for library patrons. Experts from the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Public Library share their experiences pioneering a high-speed, graphical Internet service that supports the full range of multimedia materials available across…