Libraries are moving into an era that incorporates improvements of a library's existing databases, embraces the research results of the information-seeking process, and makes fundamental improvements by adding new databases such as WordFocus. These new systems should convert the frustrated user of today's online public access catalog (OPAC) into…

The librarian is presented with a foundation for decision making as it relates to the physical processing of nonprint materials, and with a demonstration of how these decisions move from theoretical to practical physical processing issues. Such issues include packaging and repackaging; treating accompanying materials; labeling; preparing…

Academic libraries must integrate technology and traditional library service. Online catalogs, high-tech campus information networks, and accelerated resource sharing present opportunities for building comprehensive information centers. However, the interiors of most existing libraries were not designed to accommodate extensive high-tech equipment…

This book offers practical advice to school library media specialists for developing and improving leadership skills. It is asserted that societal crises like illiteracy, poverty, alienation, and socioeconomic divisions make librarians "ecologists" of the mind. Librarians ensure equitable access to others' insights into life's concerns, and…

This book is a compilation of 14 articles that present a wide range of perspectives on providing access to vast networks of information resources and enabling students to learn in an information-rich environment. The articles, arranged in four parts--overview of important technologies comprising the virtual library, learning in the electronic…

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…

This book addresses many of the practical issues involved in developing the virtual library. Seven presentations from the Eighth Annual Computers in Libraries Conference are included in this book in augmented form. The papers are supplemented by "The Evolving Virtual Library: An Overview" (Laverna M. Saunders and Maurice Mitchell), a…

Presents an annotated bibliography for librarians of access tools for publications and documents of specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). A brief review of the nature and purpose of the UN specialized agencies is included, along with general sources for information on UN agencies. (seven references) (LRW)

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…

This document focuses on intellectual freedom as it relates to school library media centers and instructional materials. Its purpose is to help school districts develop and adopt necessary policies that will build a solid foundation for intellectual freedom as part of the school climate, devise procedures that should be followed when an expression…

Examines the increasing information value of government documents as resource materials, the effects of information technology on access to government documents, and the resulting need for cooperation among archivists and librarians in selection and administration of these materials. (CLB)

Compares current approaches to decisions involving the preservation of library materials and describes a national project aimed at identifying and preserving important classical studies on microfiche. The use of an editorial board of scholars in this decision making process is evaluated and alternative scholarly involvement models are suggested.…

International governmental organizations (IGOs) are constantly expanding their work and influence, yet their publications are among the most difficult documents for libraries to acquire, organize, and use. This authoritative reference work examines the documentation, publications, and computerized information services of such major IGOs as the…

Discusses the impact of technological advancement on academic libraries and predicts the types of changes that may occur in the role of libraries and librarians, collection development, access to information, financing, and facilities. (CLB)

Highlights major trends in information technology and speculates on their impact for library services in the future. Bibliographic accessibility and the role of the librarian in information management in tomorrow's libraries are discussed. (EM)