Describes a major deaccessioning (weeding) project begun in 1985 at the library of the Nebraska State Historical Society, including a brief history of the Society and the events leading to the decision to weed. Public controversy over the handling of the project, benefits of the weeding, and new acquisitions policies are also discussed. (MES)

It is generally accepted in the library world that an automated catalog means more accessible data for patrons, greater productivity for librarians, and an improvement in the sharing of bibliographic data among libraries. While the desirability of automation is not a controversial issue, some aspects of automating remain problematic. This article…

A preservation census was conducted of selected Dewey ranges of the volumes located in the mezzanine area of the Social Science Department of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library main branch. This collection is housed in a non-circulating, semi-supervised stack area and includes approximately 500 volumes in the fields of bibliography and rare…

These 10 issues, representing one calendar year, including two double issues (2002) of "The Library of Congress Information Bulletin," contain information on Library of Congress new collections and program developments, lectures and readings, financial support and materials donations, budget, honors and awards, World Wide Web sites and…

The "MLA Bibliography" Scope and Overlap Committee was formed in response to a request from the Modern Language Association for librarians' assistance in examining the coverage and overlap between the "MLA International Bibliography" and other reference tools. This report contains the following 20 papers, prepared by the…

Examines criteria for the coordination of the administration of government document microform collections, including discussion of bibliographic access, physical access, and collection development. Limitations to the integration of these collections and problems of public access to these less than fully integrated collections are also addressed.…

Describes a formula that nonspecialists can use for evaluating rare books. Concurrent consideration of the scarcity, significance (importance), beauty, and demand for a given book will determine its value or rarity. (JKP)

The North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries' special collections department has organized an exhibit of Lee Smith's manuscripts, photographs, correspondence, awards, and memorabilia in honor of the Appalachian writer's upcoming retirement from NCSU. An NCSU archivist describes steps in processing the collection and organizing the exhibit.…

Examines traditional conceptions of a library collection, and reveals four major presumptions associated with collections: tangibility, ownership, a user community, and an integrated retrieval mechanism. Explores challenges posed by media, and proposes an expanded concept of collection that considers the perspectives of both user and collection…

This 5-year master plan reflects the Nevada State Library and Archives' continuing commitment to providing open access to comprehensive state of the art information services and to preserving Nevada's valuable information resources. The planning process is indispensable to the design of systems and programs which will meet the changing information…

Describes the findings of a 1991 survey of automation in Iranian academic libraries. Findings about libraries participating in the study, including subject area focus, library size, users, staffing, services, and budgets, are presented as a context for information about computer facilities. Copies of the survey in English and Arabic are appended.…

The Black Heritage Public Library in Findlay, Ohio was begun by Nina Parker in 1981 to fill the gaps of black representation in American history and literature. The mission of one woman to counter the biased representation in local schools and present African-American history as a crucial piece of American history previously denied to all…

Three papers on special book collections were presented at the 1986 IFLA general conference. They include: (1) "Far Eastern Collections in the United Kingdom" (B. C. Bloomfield, United Kingdom), which discusses the background of Eastern Studies in the United Kingdom (UK) and the coordination of library provision for Far Eastern…

In the summer of 1984, seven Library of Congress subclasses in the Columbia-Greene Community College Library were surveyed to determine if past circulation records could reliably predict future circulation. In the summer of 1985, a follow-up study surveyed 10 Library of Congress subclasses to verify the results of the first study. The second…

Written to guide librarians and staff in all types of libraries, this manual describes steps in the processes of writing collection development statements and assessing library collections. The first section focuses on the collection development policy--the benefits of a written policy, who should write the statement, and elements to be included.…