Over time, the Regional Library Systems Act has succeeded in its aim to widen and improve access to library services for all Maine residents. Today, students in the smallest high schools and users of the most remote public libraries can plug into the resources of the largest public libraries in the state and draw on the services of their…

Online database searching experiences of nine Illinois public libraries--Arlington Heights, Deerfield, Elk Grove Village, Evanston, Glenview, Northbrook, Schaumburg Township, Waukegan, Wilmette--are discussed, noting search costs, user charges, popular databases, library acquisition, interaction with users, and staff training. Three sources are…

This description of the development of an academic research library in Los Angeles includes a brief history of the University of California, and discusses university librarians, library buildings, special collections, automation, and cooperative programs. (EJS)

Discusses the impact of local online databases on library reference services, including their integration with remote files such as Dialog, Orbit, and the Information Bank. Online catalog databases, multiple local databases (analytics for journal articles, indexes), and batch processing of data are noted. Six references are cited. (EJS)

Discusses the author's report, "The Future of the National Library of Canada," in terms of its scope, intent, and limitations. (CHC)

Presents the full text of the Task Force report on networking, adopted by the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science to delineate the position of the school library media program within the total framework of national networking. The role of the school library media program is clarified. (Author/CMV)

The Australian and New Zealand academic library statistics for 1996 provide data on overall staffing, services, collections. expenditures, and population in 43 Australian and 7 New Zealand academic library systems. Includes amendments to the 1995 statistics. (PEN)

Reports on a project which developed a measure of levels of difficulty of reference questions handled by the California Interlibrary Reference Referral Network, and identified indicative measures that would reliably stand for the concept of difficulty. Correlations of predictive difficulty and actual difficulty are discussed. (nine references)…

Discusses academic and public libraries that expand the range and type of their services via fee-based information services and private information businesses that charge fees. Questions of billing the total cost to the patron versus part of the cost are considered; and the impact of such fees on library cooperation and networks is described. (six…

Reports on Bill and Melinda Gates's tour of Alabama, the first state to be wired to the Internet by the nonprofit Gates Library Foundation, and the model for connecting 1000 more libraries this year. Mutual appreciation between Alabama librarians and the Gateses resulted. An interview with Bill Gates focuses on challenges libraries face in…

This article is about Jeff Trzeciak, the tech hotshot at the Wayne State libraries. He oversees instructional technology for the entire campus community, library technology services (with over 1000 workstations and 30 servers), digital library services, and the help desk. It is clear he loves his work. His passion, though, is creating online…

This study examines children's uses of reading resources in neighborhood public libraries that have been transformed to "level the playing field." Through foundation funding (US$20 million), the public library system of Philadelphia converted neighborhood branch libraries into a technologized modern urban library system, hoping to…

This manual contains information about the Michigan Documents Depository Library Program as administered by the Library of Michigan, a brief history of the program, the types of publications distributed, and guidance on handling and processing depository shipments. The first section briefly outlines the history of the Michigan documents depository…

The State Library Agencies (STLA) Survey is conducted annually and is the product of a cooperative effort between the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA), the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The Survey provides state and federal…

This information memorandum describes revisions to laws relating to public libraries that were enacted in 1997 Wisconsin Act 150. The first section of the memorandum outlines the major provisions of the Act, including: county payment for library services; optional standards in plan of library services for county; report on library system…