The University of Louisville's Ekstrom Library needed to remove 260,000 items from its shelves, and shift a further 95,000 within an extremely short deadline ahead of plans to redesign its third floor into an inviting, modern, student-friendly space for patrons to enjoy. The move faced three distinct challenges: space, item tracking, and…

Across the sector, universities are transforming the student experience by reconceptualising the ways in which they partner with students. The academic library is at the heart of the university experience and libraries have a long history of collaboration and engaging with their communities. As such academic libraries are the perfect next frontier…

Although the term lacks a standard definition, learning commons represent academic library spaces that provide computer and library resources as well as a range of academic services that support learners and learning. Learning commons have been equated to a laboratory for creating knowledge and staffed with librarians that serve as facilitators of…

Discusses the history of Finnish library work and the growing role of libraries; general features of Finnish public libraries (location, number of patrons, financing of libraries, personnel, acquisitions); organization of the libray system; and reformation of the state subsidy system and the public libraries act. (CT)

Describes the development of the Young People's Library in Las Vegas (Nevada) as a symbolic and literal bridge to the Lied Discovery Children's Museum. The roles in the design process of library administration, library personnel, and the architect are explored, and how this project addressed differences between the architect's artistic vision and…

Based on observations made at the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) on September 8, 9, and 10, 1982 and on documents supplied by NLS, this report compares standards published in the 1979 document entitled "Standards of Service for the Library of Congress Network of Libraries for the Blind and Physically…

The quality and success of library services to users at the City of Brampton Public Library and Art Gallery, Ontario, Canada, were investigated through a series of questionnaires, statistical data analyses, and comparisons with past use studies of this and other public libraries. The study utilized the operational methodology outlined by Altman in…

This discussion of ways to solve the problem of overdue library materials reviews three pertinent articles from the library literature, several studies of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library system, and a 1985 study at a southwestern public library. Attempted solutions are cited, including fines, overdue notices, retrieval methods such as the…

This report by the City of Saint Paul's Citizens Task Force for the Library presents a documented written program of recommendations for growth and change for the next five years based on the results of three sub-studies: (1) a 'Community Analysis,' an in-depth study of the library-related needs of the Saint Paul community; (2) a self-study of the…

This research report addresses the scope of school library and information services programs as demonstrated in secondary schools in St. Lucia, West Indies. Most schools were found seriously lacking in all three areas: Independent Learning Skills; Literacy/Literary and Cultural Appreciation; and Organization and Administration. Library staff…

The need for new standards has arisen in Florida public libraries as a result of the library profession's shift from quantitative, input-based standards to qualitative, output-based standards to measure library performance and excellence. The standards in this document were developed after over 100 participants identified subjects to be addressed…

This report is the result of a self-study undertaken by the staff of the University of Miami's Otto G. Richter Library as part of the Academic Library Development Program (ALDP), a management self-study program developed by the Association of Research Libraries' Office of University Library Management Studies. The basic responsibility for the…

One in a series of reports on public service studies by academic libraries that are being administered by the Office of Management Studies (OMS) of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), this report on the self-study of the University of California, Riverside (UCR) Libraries includes a brief description of the overall project and an…

This self-study by Temple University Libraries involved the efforts of 33 library staff members--9 on the study team, and 24 on 4 task forces--over a period of 12 months. Task forces were organized according to four issues: Organization of Public Services, Staffing and Management, Public Service and Technology, and Library Users and Their Changing…

This report describes a self-assessment study undertaken by the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) Library which was designed to describe current UCSB Library public services, investigate options and opportunities to enhance these services in anticipation of change, and make recommendations to ensure that the library continues to…