This paper describes the status of library services in Natal, South Africa. Fragmented services dominate the area, with public, urban, and school libraries existing in complete autonomy from each other and ambivalent about each other's existence. Within school libraries, provision of services varies widely and reflects the wider apartheid…

This report discusses the implementation of DOBIS, an online, integrated library system run on a shared-use mainframe computer, at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) Library during 1984 and 1985. General information about BCIT, the library, and DOBIS is provided, and the project background is discussed. An overview of the…

Because 30 Australian colleges of advanced education, principally teacher training institutions, were scheduled to be amalgamated in 1982, a study was undertaken to determine the problems likely to face librarians at these institutions and to produce guidelines on amalgamation and running multi-site operations for both college administrators and…

This group of six papers centers on the development of library schools and the training of library personnel. "The Status of Professional Groups in Libraries and Library Education in the GDR," by Hildegard Wagenbreth and Helmut Kubitschek, East Germany, describes the training programs, apprenticeships, courses, and admission criteria of…

Papers on theory and research in library history presented at the 1982 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference include: (1) "The Future of the Library's Past: Library Administrative Records Preservation, Policy and Practice," a discussion by Paul Sturges (United Kingdom) of the need for library records…

The Canadian and American academic library environments are remarkably similar. This factor is traceable to similarities between the nations themselves and their academic institutions. Both countries have experienced comparable shifts in governmental support and growth patterns in the academic library sector. This has led many to observe that…

Following a brief history of York University libraries, this document outlines current objectives of library operations, the problems faced in establishing future priorities, and the objectives for implementation or investigation for the next three to five years. The current mission and operating objectives in the functional areas of collecting,…

Describes management techniques used by administrators of special libraries to meet library standards while facing drastic reductions in budgets and staff. Ways of managing library acquisitions, stretching staff utilization, and assigning additional responsibilities to special librarians are suggested. (CLB)

Examines aspects of automation of technical services in four public libraries with major emphasis on management decisions (key decisions, constraints limiting options available, decision makers). Factors which emerged as important in determining decisions included municipal council attitudes, facilities available, urgency of need to change,…

Describes the various innovations in university libraries fostered by the new British universities which became operative between 1961 and 1965. The article stresses that a fresh start more easily enabled and even encouraged innovation in approach and techniques. Ninety-six references are listed. (LLS)

Steps for implementing team management in libraries are discussed in the first of four articles. The second reviews the use of quality circles in librarianship, the third describes the implementation of self-management teams in technical services, and the fourth discusses nominal group technique as a team development tool. (CLB)

Examines the leadership potential of female librarians at university libraries in Nigeria, Ghana, and Sierra Leone. Questionnaires elicited information about motivating strategies, team building attitudes, leadership attitudes and potential, and evidence of discrimination against women. Results indicate that female librarians are effective…

Describes two current studies in New South Wales (Australia) that examined the position of children's librarian in public libraries. One developed a profile of children's librarians and investigated how they rated themselves as managerial leaders; the other examined the recruitment and retention of children's and young adult librarians. (five…

Discusses the problems of spatial requirements and design as they affect utilization of audio-visual (AV) resources in Nigerian university libraries and presents a new design for an AV media center as an alternative to the current practices. Discusses decision making, consultation and analysis, and storage, access, and display considerations. (AEF)

Examines implications of the introduction of Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) to Victoria (Australia) public libraries and the revision or abandonment of previously dominant ideals of public administration. Topics include the role of government; public services as a competitive market environment; economic rationalism; and the threat to the…