Explains four historical discontinuities: time and space; mind and body; real and virtual; and humans and technology. Considers how an awareness of them can assist librarians in creating virtual space for libraries, adapting to changing roles, and developing new value-added services. (Contains 126 references.) (Author/LRW)

Provides an overview of universal Web design and discusses guidelines developed by the Web access initiative (WAI) that focus on the access needs of Web users with disabilities. Highlights include barriers for people with print disabilities or motor impairments; the role of libraries; and resources to assist Web designers. (LRW)

Change Analysis; Discusses after-school homework programs in public libraries that help latchkey children and others who need extra support and encouragement. Considers changes in librarian's attitudes toward homework help; the history and need for community-based after-school programs; scholastic benefits for students; and library staff benefits,…

Defines and discusses innovation in organizations and considers roles that information professionals can play in encouraging and supporting innovation in their organizations. Highlights include understanding future possibilities; contributing to strategy development; distilling information to create added value; developing partnerships; organizing…

Discussion of the impact of the Internet on libraries focuses on librarians as creators and marketers of new online services. Describes two fee-based online services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and concludes that academic libraries have the ability to create new online services, especially reference services. (Author/LRW)

In fall 2003, Mt. Holyoke, an elite, largely undergraduate liberal arts college with a student population of roughly 2000, unveiled its take on the information commons. Located in an area known as Miles-Smith 4, the commons functions as a conduit between the main library and Dwight Hall, which houses the library offices, state-of-the-art media…

A library media specialist should be involved in understanding the curriculum and the content area standards in the school, school district and the state, which would help the library media specialists to assist in planning, collaboratively teaching and co-evaluating with the classroom teachers. The library media program can become an integral…

This study examines sixty academic libraries' Web sites and finds that 80 percent of them do not have a technical services' homepage. Data reveal that institution's status might be a factor in whether a library has such a page. Further content analysis suggests there is an appropriate and useful public service role that technical services…

Research on multiculturalism in libraries focuses primarily on collection development and on the recruitment of minorities to the profession. Although multicultural student outreach is relatively uncommon, it is essential in helping to combat the social, education, technological and financial barriers that leave many minority students at a…

Standards for public libraries have undergone dramatic changes in the last decade. Traditional standards measured only "inputs," or what the community put into the library in terms of staff, books, funding, etc. However, these standards did not measure the services that the library produced, and, as a result, the Public Libraries…

Interdisciplinary course offerings at Purdue University which combine engineering and the social sciences are discussed from the librarian's point of view. (Author)

Documents and journal articles featured in this nine-item annotated bibliography concern the role of the library and information services, in both public and private settings, in promoting the competitiveness and economic well-being of businesses, regions, and the nation. Citations were selected through a computer search of the Educational…

Public libraries can be instrumental in creating a learning society and alleviating the problems pointed out in "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform," the report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education. In fact, public libraries have always played an important role in the nation's education and will…

Based on observations made during a 1979-80 study trip, this paper presents a critical view of academic librarianship and libraries in India, emphasizing issues confronting the library profession and its ability to fulfill library objectives in a developing nation. It is noted that modern India is a society closely tied to tradition while at the…

Librarians must be alert to the local information needs of library users, and must also develop library instruction programs to help patrons make more effective use of the library. (LS)