El Centro de la Causa and the Chicago Public Library cooperated in a program to serve Chicago's Spanish speaking population. The project assessed needs and designed programs to meet those needs by establishing a library in El Centro's community center and some outreach programs. An active acquisitions program for Spanish language materials was…

Guidelines are given for expanding library hours so that disadvantaged adults may use library facilities and services on nights and weekends. There are discussions of cost, staffing, security problems, and publicity. Shifting library, bookmobile, and special programs to different hours; moving some programs outside the library; and special…

Describes a public library outreach program for institutionalized senior citizens, including the rationale, local environment, management of the program, and individual literacy discussion sessions. The many positive results both to the participants and to the library are described. An annotated list of materials tested in several group situations…

Reviews the historical development of adult and continuing education as provided through the Open University system of Great Britain. An interview with the librarian for Oxford's Department of External Studies examines the current status of the program and describes the library services available to participants. (8 references) (CLB)

The Texas Reading Club is designed to encourage youth to read for pleasure and to promote library usage.A statewide theme is selected each year that emphasizes ways in which reading expands young minds and encourages children to use their imaginations. The year 2000's theme, "Invent the future! READ!," emphasizes ways in which reading…

Helping Books Help Families (HBHF) is a book discussion program developed by the State Library of Ohio to be instituted by public and school libraries in the state of Ohio. The focus of the program is to promote reading with three groups: families as a group, to parents alone as role models for reading, and to students in school libraries. There…

Five articles present an overview of trends and issues affecting rural libraries. The areas discussed include the status of rural library services; outreach programs; the role of library cooperation in the support of rural library service; the development of rural information centers; and political marketing of the rural library. (CLB)

Survey of adult Canadian library users focused on defining "seniors," and determining their awareness of library programing and needs for further programing aimed specifically at older adults. Results indicated that, in an era of fiscal restraint, librarians need to be wary of improving services to seniors at the expense of other…

Describes three projects that won 1994 John Cotton Dana Public Relations Awards. The projects used less than $150 of the library budget, had no full-time public relations staff, and relied on volunteers. Guidelines for entering the 1995 awards contest and a list of all 12 winners from 1994 are given in sidebar articles. (KRN)

By identifying effective young adult strategies, programs, and services, this research study adds to the knowledge of the role of libraries and librarians as community partners in providing for the needs of young adults. Two tables provide a comparison of strategies and a program and services comparison. (Contains 24 references.) (AEF)

Living in the vast shadow cast by the spires of the Magic Kingdom presents special challenges for Orlando's Orange County Library System (OCLS), the most formidable of which is increasing its relatively small user base. The library additionally faces tension between the administration and staff, political strife on the board, and looming contract…

In the 1950s, the State of Florida led the way in developing a national model for the development of the junior or community college system. The "Brown vs Board of Education" Supreme Court Decision impacted the segregated system and during the 1960s, Florida's 12 black junior colleges were merged with pre-existent majority campuses. This…

Schools, colleges and universities, and local communities now recognize the key role they play to encourage citizen participation and promote civic engagement. New civic engagement initiatives underway offer perfect opportunities for libraries to fulfill their traditional roles of promoting civic literacy and ensuring an informed citizenry. Today,…

This study systematically examines the reading habits and in-house library use of a group of survey respondents in the Independent Living complex at a retirement community located in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The residents responded to an anonymous questionnaire requesting information about their reading habits and their preferences…

This survey investigated the services offered to older adults by public libraries in northeastern Ohio. Questionnaires were mailed to 120 public libraries in that region, and 80 (66.6%) of them were returned. The responding libraries were divided into three categories based on the size of their service population: (1) over 50,000 people (16.3%);…