This article explores the closing of the Howard Ross Library of Management at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. We hypothesized that closing a branch library would result in a decline in the use of library services. We measured library service using circulation statistics, library instruction workshop statistics, and data from the online survey…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of The Bridging Worlds Conference which was held in October 2008 in Singapore. Design/methodology/approach: One of the main topics the National Library Board of Singapore, the organising party, wished to address was the roles cultural institutions, such as libraries, may play in…

In preparation for its Five-Year Plan for the years 2008 through 2012, the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services has reviewed a variety of information resources, including studies, publications, surveys and stakeholder meetings, to assist in understanding the state, its people, its future and the potential role of libraries. This…

This selective review of the Library of Congress (LC) prepared by the Advisory Group on Libraries in 1976 makes recommendations from the perspective of the library community. It emphasizes the general educational and cultural role of the LC, stressing the importance of making the public aware of LC services to expose the concept of the LC as…

Summarizes the responses of research library directors to the Library of Congress' Network Advisory Committee statement, which stresses an egalitarian network environment. The special role of research libraries and the effect on their participation in local area and multitype networks are discussed. (6 references) (CLB)

Discusses the changes in the social and economic environment that have pushed libraries into retreating from their traditional objective of preserving the cultural record, and suggests that the solution to this problem must be sought by means of national-level resource and cost-sharing programs. A 21-item reference list is included. (Author/JL)

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

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…

Reviews the ways in which technical processing personnel enable libraries to provide fast and accurate access to information, and discusses the impact of technological change on the role and duties of technical processing personnel, the nature of library service, and existing organizational structures. (CLB)

This handbook for library trustees identifies the duties and responsibilities of library boards and librarians, the qualifications of an effective library and of a library board, and library policy requirements. The concept of intellectual freedom, the Library Bill of Rights, and the Freedom to Read Statement are discussed, and the role of the…

The first Soviet-American Library Seminar provided general comparisons and contrasts, similarities and dissimilarities, between Soviet and American libraries, and stressed the differences in understanding library terms, the need for long-range planning, demographic changes and their effect on library services, and library automation. An…

Describes a project in which 15 public libraries in the Bay Area Library and Information System undertook simultaneous local planning using the Public Library Development Program planning and role setting process. Areas discussed include planning team workshops and meetings, implementation of the planning process, writing the planning document,…

The 25 essays written for this compilation focus on a variety of initiatives undertaken by librarians, information scientists, and educators to give increased service with diminished funding. They show librarians responding to a changed environment through creating new organizational patterns, making use of new technologies, and participating…

Challenging popular prognostications and asserting that the complex mix of technologies projects suggests no clear path to the future, this book offers an alternative model to a simplistic digital future. The book is divided into four main parts. Chapters in the first part, "Being Analog," consider the need to get over the digital…

Since no local library can meet the information needs of the community on its own, librarians and local policymakers must look to other existing agencies and channels for support. In every locale are agencies, organizations, and governmental and social service units that daily gather, compile, and disseminate information as one of their missions.…