Discusses the results of a survey of school principles that investigated how they perceive the role of librarians and the library media center. Shows a general lack of knowledge about the role of school libraries and their ability to improve student learning, and the need for librarians to communicate their role more clearly. (LRW)

Discussion of community electronic networks focuses on the role of public libraries in terms of leadership, local information needs, access to electronic information including the Internet, education and training, and server hosts. A guide to resources on the World Wide Web is also included. (LRW)

Discusses the role of the school media center and the use of technology to promote collaboration with teachers. Highlights include technological changes in the media center; changing standards in education; and linking media center technology with the curriculum to bring teachers in. (LRW)

Reviews the Fall 1996 issue of "Daedalus," entitled "Books, Bricks, & Bytes," which explores social, economic, and technological demands on libraries; and "Buildings, Books, and Bytes: Libraries and Communities in the Digital Age" (1996) which describes the perceptions of library leaders and the general public concerning the future of libraries.…

Describes a study that examined the professional information needs of rural secondary school teachers in New South Wales (Australia). Concludes that teacher librarians have a pivotal role in meeting information needs, and that computer networks provide a means of overcoming the teachers' professional and geographical isolation. (LRW)

Describes a freshman-level library research instruction program developed at Maryville College. Discusses information literacy and the general education curriculum; conceptual framework for the library's role; timetable for a three-hour information literacy workshop; faculty role; faculty response; student response; and recommendations. (LRW)

Posits a positive association between an academic department's publishing output and (1) whether its coursework requires library use; (2) how frequently its faculty require their classes to take library tours; (3) its faculty's belief that library tours contribute to students' developing useful library skills; and (4) students' ability to use the…

Identifies challenges facing graduate library education and recommends ways to keep library programs from closing, including better defining the profession of librarianship and avoiding isolation by engaging in high-profile, universitywide relationships with other academic departments. Unique characteristics of librarians and librarianship are…

The first article describes the whole language approach as an outgrowth of individualized reading and the language experience approach, which encourages students to read books about their own interests, regardless of their reading levels. The second suggests ways in which media specialists can contribute to the planning and implementation of whole…

Discusses the need for media specialists to be able to translate broad issues into specific questions that can be answered at the building level in order to improve school media programs. A series of specific questions for each challenge posed in "Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs" is presented. (five references)…

Describes a survey conducted to determine the perceptions of academic deans and library directors at 150 two-year colleges regarding the function of the college library/learning resources center. Reports strong agreement between the deans and directors with respect to the role of the library in instructional support and development. (DMM)

Focuses on the planning process described in "Information Power," recently published guidelines for school library media programs. Topics addressed include: (1) the rationale for program planning; (2) benefits and risks of planning; and (3) the steps in planning a curriculum-integrated program. An instrument for assessing preliminary conditions…

Explores the role of library media specialists in school curricula enrichment and the possibilities for utilizing both print and nonprint media to this end. Examples of media support for social studies, science, mathematics, and the arts are presented. The importance of networking and support systems to the success of media centers is discussed.…

Reports the results of a survey that examined the role of small university libraries in Canadian communities. The discussion covers services currently available to communities, areas in which services could be improved or extended, and the benefits to be gained by both the library and the community. (19 references) (Author/CLB)

Describes the Electronic Dissemination of Information database operated by Martin Marietta Data Systems, under contract to the Department of Agriculture, to illustrate the issues and problems librarians face in trying to provide access to government information in electronic formats, and to discuss the role of public and private sectors in…