Whether you have an interest in starting an ebook collection for your school library program or are working on enhancing an ebook collection you've already established, this handbook is for you. The world of ebooks is both vast and intricate. Exploring the many articles concerning ebook publication, vendors, devices, and copyright laws can be…

This book is a practical guide to librarians and their administrators who are thinking about or in the early stages of providing virtual reference service. Part 1, "The Decision to Go Virtual," provides a context for thinking about virtual reference, including the benefits and problems, getting in the virtual frame of mind, and shopping…

Working in a cooperative team environment across libraries and job classifications, librarians and support staff at the University of California at Irvine (UCI) have mounted several successful web projects, including two versions of the Libraries' home page, a virtual reference collection, and Science Library "ANTswer Machine." UCI's…

This book provides school library media specialists (SLMSs) with practical guidelines and suggested Internet sites for designing cyber libraries that are reflective of their school's research, curriculum, and recreational reading needs. An introduction provides SLMSs with a rationale for designing cyber libraries. Chapter 1, Cyber Library…

This book presents 19 case studies in library web site creation and implementation. The book begins with an introduction--"Introduction: Step into My Parlor" (Julie M. Still)--and is divided into three sections. The first section, Academic Library Web Sites, contains six case studies: "U-SEARCH: The University of Saskatchewan…

Chapter 1, "Preliminary Issues," explores the historical importance of the electronic publishing revolution, some of the terminology to be used in the book, and the differences and similarities between traditional and electronic collection development. Chapter 2, "What Is an Offer? The Electronic Resources Landscape," covers…

Libraries have long been pivotal community institutions--public spaces where people can come together to learn, reflect, and interact. Today, information is rapidly spreading beyond books and journals to digital government archives, business databases, electronic sound and image collections, and the flow of electronic impulses over computer…

Libraries offer a variety of services and play an assortment of roles. While few people disagree that libraries have been valuable institutions in the past, many wonder how necessary they will be in the future. Shrinking budgets make it harder for libraries to contradict these perceptions. This report examines the social and economic impact that…

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…

Presents guidelines for identifying, evaluating, and selecting Internet resources based on a conceptual model and organizational framework of a collection development policy formulated at Cornell University's library. Topics include collection development in an electronic library and a taxonomy of Internet resources. (Author/LRW)

As a reference guide for library professionals, this volume helps librarians prepare for the future in the growing electronic environment by examining the historical and theoretical background of the National Electronic Library and assessing the role of libraries in the past, present, and future. The book is divided in two sections: "The…