One candidate for president-elect of the American Library Association (ALA) is a woman, the other is a man. One can tell them apart by looking at them. But Nancy Davenport and James Rettig are not that far apart on the issues that confront the old association and the profession it serves. They have selected slightly different emphases for their…

Social networking and other Web 2.0 technologies led the social whirl of the information industry. Publishers and librarians tried to keep their products and services relevant by mixing authoritative content with user involvement, but that was not enough. Enhancing interfaces, adding new forms of content, and making strategic acquisitions--all are…

Discusses the history of the American public library and suggests directions for research. (PF)

The concept of intellectual freedom, and its presence or lack of presence in library education programs, is discussed. (KP)

Suggests a decision-making rationale to use when deciding whether or not to charge library patrons for services or materials. (Author/KP)

Describes a project at the San Bernardino Public Library designed to integrate microcomputers into library public services. Program elements include: (1) a microcomputer laboratory; (2) ongoing computer education classes; (3) access to online databases; (4) a 24-hour communications link between the library and community; and (5) a career…

The third article in Library Journal's" current series on the use of volunteers in libraries gets down to the nuts and bolts of the question by providing a look at one library's successful experience with a volunteer program. (5 references) (Author)

It took nine Pittsburgh librarians ten months, but they succeeded in setting up a library in the county jail. (Author)

Pure energy: that is one way to describe Veronda Pitchford, the assistant director of Chicago's Metropolitan Library System (MLS). And she uses that energy to transform the profession one recruit, one project, one library supporter at a time. At work, she is involved with recruitment and taps her public relations B.A. to help member libraries…

This article details the work of Jennifer Hain-Teper, from the University of Illinois Library. For Jennifer Hain Teper, it all began with a simple question: "If you could do anything at all, regardless of pay, what would it be?" This was posed by a friend when Hain Teper was a volunteer at the wildflower research center in Austin, TX.…

Over the next several decades, libraries will face the potential loss of all the e-journals, ebooks, electronic theses, local digital collections, and other "e-stuff" curated for the public good. A solution to this problem is LOCKSS ("Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe"), a free, open-source digital-preservation software from Stanford University that…

To the individual, garden areas link to the natural world, offering solace, refuge, inspiration, and purpose. To a low-income neighborhood, where often the only greenery sprouts from between cracks in concrete, their impact can be monumental, signaling sustainability, beautifying, attesting to value and worth--even prompting civic change. A 2000…

If the resort city of Anaheim, California, home of Disneyland and its "imagineers," marked a departure from the urban reality of the typical American Library Association (ALA) annual conference, it was impossible, at this 2008 meeting, to avoid urgent library issues. How do libraries maintain their value and cultural presence as users…

The document entitled "A Commitment to Information Services," prepared over a period of two years by the Standards Committee of the Reference and Adult Services Division (RASD) of the American Library Association, and now formally adopted by the Division Executive Board, is a better disappointment. (Author)

The impact of the cut off of Federal funds for library programs which was announced during the ALA Midwinter Meeting is discussed. (NH)