This resource was designed to be used by individuals and groups as an ongoing reflection tool. Inclusion is not a one-size-fits-all concept, nor a complete-and-move-on challenge. The checklist and supporting resources are meant to help individual libraries evaluate current services as well as plan for the future. Ultimately, changes and…

Special collections libraries collect and preserve materials of intellectual and cultural heritage, providing access to unique research resources. As their holdings continue to expand, special collections in research libraries confront increased space pressures. Off-site storage facilities, used frequently by research libraries for general…

Materials challenges and censorship occur often in public and private educational settings. Private schools and their library media centers are not subject to the First Amendment but research reported in this article examines the state of challenges to materials held in private schools media centers in the southeast United States as a way to gauge…

This report on the process by which a university librarian is selected is based on interviews with key participants in searches for library directors at five medium to large universities, each of which had selected a new university librarian within the two years prior to the survey. It was found that the five universities--one private, one…

Based on responses to a survey from 79 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries, this Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit explores how these libraries are currently addressing management issues associated with materials budgets. The survey addressed the following broad areas: how libraries define their materials…

Undertaken to provide data on the current status of collection development in selected academic libraries, this study also analyzed the structure of the collection development function at Chicago Academic Library Council (CALC) institutions and outlined a formal collection development policy for Chicago State University's Douglas Library.…

Published 10 times a year, Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) Kits and Flyers contain information on issues of concern to libraries and librarians; they are the result of surveys on topics related to practice and management of library programs in the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). This document focuses on the organization of…

Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions were surveyed by the Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) in the fall of 1987 to obtain information on their recruitment and hiring practices for top level library administrative positions, and to determine in what ways search procedures may have changed over the past 10 years in…

This guide is designed to help school library media specialists in establishing a media center or to provide new ideas for existing centers. The first section presents media selection information, including sources for ordering; selection guidelines; suggestions for analyzing children's materials for sexism and racism; evaluation criteria (for…

A survey of the current practices in school library-media centers in the Southwest, Three Rivers, Pathfinder, and Arkansas Valley Regional Library Service Systems in Colorado was conducted in the fall of 1986. The survey covered reference materials; media selection; computer usage, including cataloging, online searching, and use of library…

The essential elements of personnel management are outlined. Personnel management may be called by various names and may be practiced by various levels of management, but in any case it is one of the most important elements of a management position. While sample forms generally relate to Texas community colleges and libraries, the guide is written…

This flyer and kit were developed by the Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) to examples job descriptions used by academic and research libraries and present examples from various libraries. Job descriptions serve a variety of purposes in personnel management. In addition, current and…

This Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit presents the results of a survey which focused on the use of remote storage by research libraries as a solution to the shortage of library storage space. The kit includes documents from several libraries describing how they have developed policy questions and procedures to handle the…

Presents a checklist of skills for school librarians to use with library science student interns. Areas of skills addressed include selection of materials, cataloging, vertical files, preparation of materials for shelving, circulation, audiovisual and computer equipment and procedures, administration, physical arrangement, relations with staff and…