With the pileup of responsibilities that range from programming to outreach to web management, more and more librarians are finding vendor-based book selection enticing. Most librarians see vendor-based selection as an option to relieve the pressure and still provide good collections to their patrons. However, using vendors to help facilitate…

Toni Garvey, director of the Phoenix Public Library (PPL) and LJ 2004 Librarian of the Year, has practiced her profession in a Western county jail, for the politicized board of a Southern public library, in the children's room of a university community, and through the up and down economics of a major American city. She has managed branches and…

This survey of librarians in public and school libraries serving a significant number of Hispanics found that, although 60 percent of the respondents report that books in Spanish for Spanish-speaking children and young adults serve an important educational purpose, many of the remaining respondents are very much opposed to increasing their…

Compiled by the Maricopa County Library Council, Inc., a countywide library planning body made up of representatives of the various sizes and types of libraries in Maricopa County, Arizona, this planning document describes the current level of development in the county's public libraries and presents recommended development goals for college,…