The COVID-19 pandemic, which hit academic libraries in the United States during the spring semester of 2020, forced librarians and staff to redouble their efforts to reach out to users in light of newly enforced safety measures such as building closures, quarantine periods, enforced social distancing, etc. This article describes three…

The Public Libraries Survey (PLS) is a voluntary survey conducted annually by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS collects these data under the mandate in the Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 as stated in SEC. 210. The U.S. Census Bureau is the data collection agent for IMLS. The fiscal year (FY) 2009 survey is the…

Many scholarly studies investigating school library services provided to students with special needs primarily address aspects of collaboration with special education (SPED) teachers in an immersed school environment. Scarcely studied are ways that school library programs (SLPs) empower students in schools serving only students with a specific…

For over a half a century, State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAAs) have played a key role in the development and delivery of library services in the United States. While the organization and responsibilities of these agencies vary from state to state, they have two things in common: state-level planning for library services and…

Copyright law is a source of a great deal of bewilderment and frustration to academic librarians. Beyond the basics of copyright protection and fair use, most librarians struggle to grasp the complexity of the law and the roadblocks it presents to access and use. This article attempts to elucidate some of those complexities by suggesting seven…

In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate passed the controversial Federal Library Agency Act (FLAA) on a nearly unanimous voice vote, sending it to President Obama for his expected signature. The House had passed it in February with a two-thirds majority. The FLAA creates a new mandate by combining federal library functions scattered…

This report marks the third release of library statistics data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). It contains data on state library agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia for state fiscal year (FY) 2008. The data were collected through the State Library Agencies (StLA) Survey, the product of a cooperative…

This paper summarizes the history of privacy as it relates to library records. It commences with a discussion of how the concept of privacy first originated through case law and follows the concept of privacy as it has affected library records through current day and the "USA PATRIOT Act."

The US Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) launched the Improving Literacy through School Libraries Program at the outset of NCLB. Using competitive project grants, the Literacy through Libraries (LSL) objective is to facilitate the improvement of literacy skills and academic achievement of students by…

This report marks the second release of library statistics data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). It contains data on state library agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia for state fiscal year (FY) 2007. The data were collected through the State Library Agencies (StLA) Survey, the product of a cooperative…

This article discusses the effect of the Copyright Act of 1976 upon fee-based library copying services. Highlights include commercial advantage, open collection, notice of copyright, articles and small excerpts, multiple or systematic copying, purpose of fair use, the Williams and Wilkins case, and large-scale copying operations. Forty-four…

Federal, state, and local governments are pouring money into programs and initiatives that were mandated by No Child Left Behind (NCLB). An important additional step to take is to demonstrate to administrators, faculty, and parents that the library program and its collection is aligned with the goals of NCLB and is striving to play an active part…

The Improving Literacy through School Libraries (LSL) Program was established by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 under Title I, Part A, Subpart 4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The purpose of the program is to improve the literacy skills and academic achievement of students by providing them with increased access to…

In preparation for compliance with the new Copyright Act effective in January 1978, the photocopy regulations of the Act were examined and the effects of these regulations on library photocopying services were assessed. The literature concerned with the controversy over the photocopying of copyrighted works, the "fair use" doctrine, and…

This publication presents information on federal and state programs which fund library and other book-related projects. Federal programs described provide funding for: (1) library services (Title I, Library Services and Construction Act/LSCA); (2) instructional materials and school library resources (Title IV-B, Elementary and Secondary Education…