Discusses feature-length film or video documentaries, including cinema verite and direct cinema techniques, the use of documentaries for nationalistic purposes, censorship, and fiction versus nonfiction. An annotated bibliography of 20 video documentaries suitable for library collections is provided. (LRW)

Provides guidelines for ordering the best computer books, geared to the library's size. Covers series, articles, subjects, and publishers most useful to a broad audience, as well as the best places to seek information on new titles and where to find reviews. Offers time savers for upgrading a computer book collection and discusses weeding…

Describes a project that modified the fill rate survey from "Output Measures for Public Libraries" to assess the library needs of middle school children. The resulting development of an up-to-date, graded nonfiction collection and its impact on library use by middle schoolers is discussed. The modified survey form is included. (five…

This report is intended for use as a selection aid covering newly published materials from selected publishers. Reviews are prepared by school library media specialists in Oklahoma. Each entry provides the recommended grade and interest levels, as well as a rating. Also included for each book is a brief story synopsis. Reviews for fiction books…

Designed to serve as an access point to children's literature for researchers, librarians, teachers, parents, and young people, this single-volume guide covers reference materials published from 1985 through 1997. More than 325 information sources have been identified, reviewed, and individually evaluated, with entries ranging from theoretical…

A selection of academic libraries was studied to examine ownership of best-sellers from 1940 to 1990. The trend is to keep a higher percentage of older best-sellers in fiction than newer ones. Nonfiction appears to be more sporadic but still follows this trend. Findings indicate new collection development policies may be needed to protect…

Describes a high school library "stress collection" of 125 fiction and nonfiction titles dealing with issues teens may experience and provides brief annotations for a number of these resources. Topics covered include academic and other anxieties, crises, dropouts, drugs and alcohol, families, health, illness and death, pregnancy, sexual…

Telling stories can be an effective way of introducing science concepts. This article provides an annotated bibliography of fiction and nonfiction books for K-12 students and adults on static electricity, surface tension, bubbles, chromatography, slugs and other creatures, plants, physical and chemical change, strength of shapes, collections of…

Reports the results of a survey of librarians at public libraries (PLs) that was conducted to provide details on budgets, circulation, and popular topics. Highlights include nonfiction, with the highest expenditures and circulation; local interest materials; a loss in print reference materials; and an increase in audiovisual and electronic…

Easy-to-read books are not just stories. Many are about science, math, and history. This article provides an annotated bibliography of story, history, math, and science easy-to-read books published in 1997. The author recommends spending money to replace worn older outstanding titles rather than automatically buying new titles of lesser quality.…

A Library Journal survey of 2000 public libraries investigated adult book expenditures and circulation. This article presents statistics on purchasing power and circulation, sources used for purchasing decisions, where books are purchased, top circulating genres, topics of increased patron and librarian interest, topics being weeded and replaced,…

The purpose of this research was to look at the currency of the collection of a small public library and to determine the relationship between the amount of usage of the collection and the currency of publications in the collection. A 10% systematic sample was taken of the circulating nonfiction adult shelf list of the Franklin Public Library…

Includes seven articles that discuss censorship and intellectual freedom in junior and senior high schools. Highlights include access to appropriate information; library material selection; dealing with complaints; a list of potentially controversial titles and topics; a history of book burning; the censorship of fiction; weeding versus…

Discusses the importance of nonfiction as part of children's and young adults' reading. Topics include library collection development practices to keep nonfiction collections up-to-date; electronic formats that allow interaction; nonfiction picture books; booktalks; results of research on reading and skill development related to nonfiction; and…

Although the Arab-Israeli conflict has been ongoing for half a century, there exists no definitive annotated bibliography of relevant, educational, and representative non-fiction works for children and young adults. Worldwide interest in the Arab-Israeli conflict has prompted an increasing demand by librarians, students, scholars, and the general…