Although scholarship has addressed issues around serving international students in U.S. and Canadian libraries, reports on how Chinese graduate students use information in Chinese universities, especially for a particular discipline, are rare. In this study, the author interviewed 15 graduate students and researchers in a top-ranked chemistry…

This publication follows the tradition of publishing selected papers from Pacific Islands Association of Libraries, Archives and Museums (PIALA) annual conferences. This 20th annual conference was held in Weno, Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia, November 15-19, 2010. The volume begins with a listing of the members of the PIALA 2010…

Outlines costs and benefits to the user of the library as an information channel and notes the implications for library organization in terms of pricing and multiple services. (MBR)

Library, services for teens are often less than stellar. Although some libraries offer young adults wonderful programs and vibrant, inviting spaces, even the American Library Association admits that adolescents tend to be an "underserved" group. This article discusses what libraries can do to make them more meaningful to teens.

The functions of The President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped are described. Suggestions of ways in which special libraries can help to further the Committee's efforts are explained. (Author)

Reduced library budgets increase the importance of free cartographic material for map collection development. The author discusses sources of free materials, such as government agencies, foreign embassies, and chambers of commerce, and explores the development of an exchange program of duplicates. (Author)

Most municipalities do not have bibliographic control and checklists of their publications. Because of the complexity of the subject, and major obstacles in locating materials of interest to their clientele, reference librarians need to understand the benefits of documents and locate sources for them. (10 references) (Author/DH)

Community information (CI) isn't a new concept for libraries. In some communities it's as old as library service itself. When librarians began collecting, maintaining, and delivering CI to patrons, they worked with a variety of nonprofits and other governmental agencies to develop card- or notebook-based systems to connect people with information.…

Discussion of the Internet highlights its use in libraries and the need to teach patrons what it can and cannot be used for. Topics include the number and variety of existing sources, vendor organization and reliability issues, speed, quality control and regulation issues, and permanence of sources. (LRW)

A general discussion of handicapping conditions includes how librarians should be aware but not overwhelmed by such conditions, and how librarians can accommodate people with handicaps through adequate physical facilities and specialized attention. Suggestions for meeting the needs of special patrons include factors to be considered in dealing…

Newspaper librarians discussed the public use of their newspapers' libraries. Policies run the gamut from well-staffed public information services, within or outside the newspaper library, to no service at all to those outside the staff of the paper. Problems of dealing with tax and law enforcement agencies were covered, as well as cooperative…

Librarians store, protect, and provide the knowledge our modern society needs, but it is frequently difficult to justify the services a reference librarian provides. The work load of a reference librarian varies greatly with periods of frantic activity separated by much longer inactive periods. The role is principally passive, waiting for library…

Examines special-purpose entry points to library Web sites. Discusses in-house homepages; branch-specific pages or single library system-wide pages; staff use pages; versions in different languages; "MyLibrary" pages where users can customize the menu; standalone "branded" sites; publicly accessible pages; and best practices.…

Resource sharing through a consortium of libraries in the Pacific islands is proposed as a practical means of meeting the needs of the Trust Territory for information for social and economic development. Not only is the cost of library materials going up at inflationary rates, but the population in the Trust Territory is becoming more educated,…

Libraries must be aware of the needs of the users in their funding organization, and yet, there is growing concern among library funding organizations that libraries are not fully coping with the information explosion. In fact, libraries, by not adopting new techniques to become more productive, are actually helping to cause the problems of the…