Briefly reviews the historical involvement of public libraries in adult programing, provides arguments for such service, and resources for background information on it, and then outlines in steps the decision points and components of an adult educational framework. (JD)

The Read Illinois project was launched by the Illinois State Library in 1981 to initiate adult service efforts to promote appreciation of the state's literary heritage. The program draws together and provides support to writers, scholars, teachers, librarians, publishers, and booksellers by organizing literary activities for adults and young…

Describes projects of Oklahoma libraries designed to combat the problem of illiteracy among adults and explains Oklahoma Image, a humanities effort aimed at attracting out-of-school adults to public libraries by focusing on the state's multicultural heritage. Column also reports adult service news from other states. (JD)

Presents a case study of the Entrepreneurial Development and Assistance Program (EDAP) at the University of Pittsburgh (Johnstown, PA). Discusses the role of librarians and libraries; objectives of the workshop series; industry, client, and competitor information; and the development and conceptual framework of EDAP. (AEF)

Uses several examples of "adult services" as they exist in libraries today in an effort to define the term. Programs and services described include cultural activities, business services, special language/information services for various ethnic groups, services for the institutionalized, handicapped, and geographically isolated, and…

Discusses programs of three libraries utilizing information and referral techniques to provide library services to migrant farm workers--Fresno County Public Library, California; Stanislaus County Public Library, California; and Cumberland County Library, New Jersey. Problems including illiteracy, physical inaccessibility, and lack of English…

Discusses the evaluation of library reference service; examines problems with past evaluations, including the lack of long-term planning and a systems perspective; and suggests a method for continuously monitoring and improving reference service using quality improvement tools such as checklists, cause and effect diagrams, Pareto charts, and…

Initiates a new state emphasis for the column by highlighting recent public library programs and services for adults in Florida. Music, photography, and women's programs offered by the Leon County Public Library are described in more detail. (JD)

Discusses the role librarians have assumed in the implementation of AACR 2/catalog closing at the Library of Congress (LC), speculates on how AACR 2 will affect public service librarians in patron interactions, and describes LC's plans to inform/instruct/train staff and the public regarding the changes. (Author)

Describes Learning Is for Everyone (LIFE), a library program of the Altoona Area Public Library, Pennsylvania, that serves mentally retarded persons of all ages and ability levels, parents, teachers, and advocates of retarded citizens, as well as the general public. Through the use of multimedia materials, programing, and community programs, the…

Explains the University of Toronto Library's three-year experience in teaching users and staff via practice sessions, slides, and worksheets to use its COM (computer output microfilm) microcatalog, which is the largest in North America. (Author/JD)

Urges that libraries become involved in providing access to machine-readable data files, such as statistics gathered by government agencies, research data gathered by scholars, and economic or business data, and describes how the Lawrence University Library developed a data collection and supportive services. Twenty-eight sources are appended.…

Provides a framework of topics that should be covered by a policy manual on cooperative reference services. It is organized into sections on mission statement, administration, delivery of services, and evaluation of services, and is intended for use in conjunction with existing RASD (Reference and Adult Services Division) documents. (Author)

Describes a public library outreach program for institutionalized senior citizens, including the rationale, local environment, management of the program, and individual literacy discussion sessions. The many positive results both to the participants and to the library are described. An annotated list of materials tested in several group situations…

In order to teach high school students to transfer skills learned in school media centers to public libraries, public librarians visit classes whose students have been assigned term papers. They present information on reference materials students will need to complete their assignments, including those not available in most media centers. (EM)