Indicates that the (1) largest journalism libraries employ professional librarians, (2) size of acquisition budgets does not correlate with school enrollment, and (3) average library spends two-thirds of is budget on newspapers and periodicals and only one-third on books. Provides useful guidelines for designing a collection development policy for…

This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit and Flyer reports results of a survey that examined how ARL (Association of Research Libraries) member libraries have organized the licensing of electronic products and how they approach the associated problems. Forty-four of the 122 ARL member libraries responded to the survey. Results are…

Describes how an independent college preparatory school library in Tennessee serving grades six through twelve has transformed its space to meet student needs. Discusses maximizing space for multipurpose use; changing library personnel duties to meet changing needs; increasing collaboration with teachers; and changes in the library collection.…

Identifies major problems that affect reader's services departments in Nigerian university libraries. Highlights include the functions of the reader's services department, including circulation, collection management, user education, and interlibrary loan; student population explosion; funding shortages; staffing shortages; and suggested…

Overview of the new guidelines for school library media programs developed cooperatively by the American Association of School Librarians and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology reviews issues such as information studies curriculum, planning, media specialist roles, personnel, and information resources. (MES)

Describes the Health Information Project, a plan created by the Maryland State Department of Education that allows residents to obtain health information from public libraries. Examples of patron situations involving health questions illustrate the plan's main elements: collection development, staff training, networking with community agencies,…

Explores how libraries will function in the year 2000 as an exercise for planning. Looks at changes in clientele, collections, facilities, and staff, and the impact of technology on these and other aspects of reference work. (six references) (EA)

Discussion of knowledge-based systems focuses on expert systems used by libraries for technical services and collection management. Highlights include knowledge acquisition; system development issues, including staff time and costs; cataloging; acquisitions and serials control; material selection; preservation; and examples of existing systems.…

Discusses the need for staff development programs dealing with library service to students with disabilities based on a study of Australian school libraries. Concludes that there is a need for library-specific staff development programs that cover policy formulation, collection development, and adaptive technology, and suggests a model for staff…

Discusses outcomes focused assessments of library research instruction using pretests and posttests, attitude and usage surveys, and focus groups at The Citadel library. Suggests that assessment results influence library instruction content, staffing, collection development, and collaboration with other faculty and academic departments.…

This book, written by graduate students at the Catholic University (District of Columbia) School of Library and Information Science, examines current priorities, policies, and practices of public libraries. Following an introduction, "Reinventing Libraries: Responding to the Forces of Change" (Lisa Crisman), chapters include: (1) "A…

Discusses the need for ongoing evaluation within high school libraries to ensure adequate library services, which, in turn, enhance the total educational program. The evaluation of library facilities, collections, and staff is discussed, and an annotated bibliography of evaluation tools is provided. (6 references) (CLB)

Published 10 times a year, Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) Kits and Flyers contain information on issues of concern to libraries and librarians; they are the result of surveys on topics related to practice and management of library programs in the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). This document focuses on the organization of…

Describes a library cataloging project at the Ukranian Museum of Canada in Saskatoon. Topics discussed include the initial collection assessment, preliminary planning, funding, staffing, objectives during the first and second years, copy cataloging using the UTLAS system, original cataloging, distribution of the museum's catalog, and future needs.…

Reports on acquisitions of selected Western European political science materials deemed important for inclusion in at least one North American research library. The percentages of French, Italian, Swedish, Catalan, Icelandic, and Belgian materials not found in RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network) and OCLC are provided. Factors supporting…