The contributions in this volume represent a decade of OCLC's user behavior research findings that articulate the need for the design of future library services to be all about the user. Highlights include: (1) People associate the library with books and do not consider the library in relation to online resources or reference services; (2) People…

Libraries of government departments provide information to policymakers, to government staff and employees, and, sometimes, to the general public. It is essential that libraries of government departments are organised and managed so as to collect and provide the information most needed by government decision makers, government workers, and the…

The lead article in this symposium argues that academic librarians have become too enthralled with their perception of themselves as teachers and urges them to shift their emphasis from instruction to services. Six authors respond to this view in short opinion pieces. (11 references) (CLB)

This book presents selected writings by Barbara Quint (BQ) on online searching. The selections are organized into the following chapters: (1) "The Art of Searching," including finding out what the patron wants, preparing for the search, knowing when the search is done, search styles, rules of online searching, cost issues, Quint's Laws,…

This book of essays is a guide to help librarians in reference and/or collection development in the field of literature in English. Chapters fall into two broad sections: Resources and Collections, and Readers and Services. The first section includes six chapters: "The Nature of Library Collections" (William A. Wortman); "Retrospective Collection…

Discussion of synthesized speech and voice recognition focuses on a forum that addressed the potential for speech technologies in libraries. Topics discussed by three contributors include possible library applications in technical processing, book receipt, circulation control, and database access; use by disabled and illiterate users; and problems…

Eight articles in this section focus on sports: the baseball mystique and scholarly publishing; importance of archiving sporting activities; museums and libraries partner to make sport history live; online resources for sports information; Webliography of general sports sites; public libraries responding to changing needs; sports fiction; and…

The first part of this monograph contains three essays that define faculty development and describe development activities, including library-related initiatives. "Using Faculty Development to Meet the Challenges of Higher Education" (Martin Tessmer) describes how development activities can help college educators meet teaching, professional, and…

Total Quality Management (TQM) brings together the best aspects of organizational excellence by driving out fear, offering customer-driven products and services, doing it right the first time by eliminating error, and maintaining inventory control without waste. Libraries are service organizations which are constantly trying to improve service.…

The provision of good library services is a crucial factor in determining the quality of distance education. This collection of articles acquaints readers with distance librarianship as it is practiced in developed and developing countries throughout the British Commonwealth. The reader includes: "Introduction" (Michael Wooliscroft);…

This guide addresses issues related to academic library services to people with disabilities. The following chapters are included: (1) "Disability in Higher Education: An Overview" (Tom McNulty); (2) "Wayfinding in Libraries: The Importance of Universal Appeal and Universal Access" (Susan Gilbert Beck); (3) "Accessible Text Formats: From RFB&D…

This book, emphasizing service to users, includes 10 chapters by different librarians who have had experience as practitioners. Chapters are: (1) "Avoiding the Seven Deadly Sins, or Technology and the Future of Library Service in Academic Libraries" (Michael Gorman); (2) "The Gateway Library: Rethinking Undergraduate Services" (Lizabeth A.…

Prison librarians usually work in isolation from other librarians, so getting information and advice about their jobs can be difficult. This book offers a guide to prison librarians, presents new ideas, and raises compelling issues about this field of librarianship. Ten current or former prison librarians cover all aspects of prison libraries and…

This report summarizes a collection of nine essays addressing the future of libraries that were an outgrowth of a study conducted by the Office of Library Programs to develop a research agenda. The study is described in the first of three sections of this report, and abstracts of the essays are presented in the second section. Areas of concern…

Four articles discuss library services to diverse user groups. Highlights include the Seattle Public Library's Human Diversity Training Program for library staff; cultural diversity at the University of Northern Colorado, including library collection development; information needs of physicists in special libraries; and library services to…