Describes sources of information at the New York State Library that pertain to hearing impairment. Topics addressed include New York State's role in the development of deaf education; background on the state library; and library services aimed at special populations. A selected bibliography of 45 relevant items in the library collection is…

Discusses the need for a common discourse about interdisciplinary needs in order to meet library users' needs. Considers why and how interdisciplinary activities emerge, what form they take, and where they are located in institutions. Also discusses knowledge representation. (Contains 78 references.) (Author/LRW)

Presents information on deafness and deaf people that is helpful to librarians communicating with deaf patrons. Communication modes and preferences are discussed, including speaking and facial expression, speech reading, lipreading, and sign language; and methods of optimizing conditions for good communication are described. (11 references) (LRW)

Discusses the relationship between public libraries and the labor movement. Highlights include the literature of labor and libraries; historical background; labor education; the role of the AFL-CIO/ALA (American Federation of Labor (AFL)-Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)/American Library Association (ALA)) Joint Committee on Library…

Discusses operational, organizational, and technological developments that are transforming the workplace; describes the concept of knowledge worker and the information utility model; considers how these factors provide opportunities for library administrators and other information resource management professionals to improve user services; and…

Discusses remote library users in an academic environment. Highlights include user needs and expectations; user satisfaction; service to remote customers in nonlibrary environments, such as industry; the distance-learning context; student demographics; distance learning and library services; course design; and a case study at De Paul University.…

Discussion of customer expectations of library service quality and SERVQUAL as a measurement tool focuses on two studies: one that compared a survey of Chinese university students' expectations of service quality to New Zealand students; and one that investigated national culture as a source of attitudes to customer service. (Author/LRW)

Provides an overview of past and present library services to, and policies about, deaf people. Unique characteristics of the deaf community are discussed; recent developments in deaf studies, communication techniques, and laws affecting library services to deaf people are reviewed; and the roles libraries can play in providing services are…

Presents guidelines and a self-assessment questionnaire that were developed by the New York Library Association for libraries serving users with hearing impairments. Areas covered by the documents include policy statements, materials, services, programing, cooperation with other agencies, facilities, and staff development. (LRW)

Discusses adult learners and higher education provided in a distance-delivery format; case studies centered on adult learners; library service and support needs; distance adult learners' expectations of library service support; potential resources for distance adult learners; and selected online learner resources. (Author/LRW)

Discusses methods used at the University of Washington libraries to assess user needs, satisfaction, and library performance. Describes the triennial user surveys used in the past as well as the new ARL's (Association of Research Libraries) LibQUAL+ methodology that focused on quality of service and library support through a Web-based survey.…

Presents four challenges faced by libraries and proposes research designs to address each of them. The challenges involve: invisible infrastructure; content and collections; preservation and access; and institutional boundaries. Proposes a mixture of research methods that includes surveys, case studies, documentary analyses, and policy analyses.…

Defines "values" and lists the eight values (stewardship, service, intellectual freedom, rationalism, literacy and learning, equity of access, privacy, democracy) derived by the author in an earlier work. Gives a brief history of the evolution of human-to-human reference service and discusses its future. Relates each of the author's eight values…

Examines how to determine the best model of reference service. Highlights include: libraries and community; components of reference service; inherent values of reference service; conflicting values and models of service; technology and change; new models and old values; and the "right" model of reference service. (AEF)

Suggests that in digital library services assessment, anthropology can provide the initial understanding, the intellectual basis, on which informed choices about sample population, survey design, or focus group selection can reasonably be made. Analyzes the National Gallery of the Spoken Word (NGSW). Includes brief descriptions of nine NGSW…