This essay explores the somewhat uneven course of the public library as a knowledge institution in America and its relevance during the current information age, particularly in the United States, where there is a basic connection between access to knowledge and the political system. The public library situation is considered in terms of the…

These proceedings contain 21 research reports and 56 position papers as well as capsule descriptions of 32 workshop forums, panel presentations, and group discussions that took place at the conference. The papers are organized into nine broad subject areas: (1) academic and research librarianship (recruitment, technology and change, faculty…

The reform of teacher education as envisioned by the Carnegie Task Force, Holmes Group, and National Commission reports in their recommendations for the creation of the professional teacher will change the characteristics of those involved in teaching. Academic libraries serving teacher education programs will most strongly feel the effects of the…

This report recounts the experiences of an Australian librarian who spent five months in England, where she visited the University of London and the Open University for discussions on library services to external students in order to: (1) gain practical knowledge of the work and responsibilities of the Open University Liaison Librarians and their…

In 1987, the Regent's Advisory Council on Libraries and the New York State Library Division of Library Development appointed a Committee on Minimum Library Standards for New York State to review and revise existing standards for public libraries, taking into consideration the Board of Regents policy on libraries. This report explains the…

This manual is designed to serve as a textbook outlining sound library administrative practices or as an aid in policy development. The basics of good library services are described, and libraries are encouraged to choose services appropriate for their situation, plan for them, and measure their effectiveness. Ninety performance measures outline…

The project documented in this report identified barriers researchers encounter in gaining access to--i.e., identifying, acquiring, handling, and using--published information and measured the seriousness of the more significant barriers. Fifty-one barriers were identified, and a method of measuring their seriousness was developed. Thirty of the…

Based on the Survey of Scholars conducted by the American Council of Learned Societies' Office of Scholarly Communication and Technology, this report examines the need for better two-way communication between libraries and scholars as a means of easing the transition to the use of today's new and diverse information resources. A concise summary…

The role of school librarians has changed as the rapid expansion of information technology during the last decade has placed more emphasis on their participation in the instructional process, and propelled the librarian into a new role as school media specialist. Many media specialists have difficulty in grasping their role in schools. They are…

Librarians need to take the initiative and seize the opportunities presented by a changing environment and society's demands for greater access to information. New technologies such as laser disks, machine indexing, telefacsimile, microcomputer applications, and fiber optics are having an immense impact on the practice of librarianship, and the…

The movement of society into the Information Age raises a number of important issues in the field of library and information science, including the role of libraries and information in building a learning society and helping individuals to learn. The library/information community also needs to address the issue of the government's role in…

Descriptions of the information and cultural resource centers established by the Los Angeles County (California) Public Library to serve four ethnic populations--American Indians, Asian Pacifics, Blacks, and Chicanos--are presented in this document. Information provided for each individual center includes its history, policies, collection,…

Intermountain Community Learning and Information Centers are the result of work begun in 1977 by Utah State University and are based on use of rural libraries in a new information and education function. Support from the Western Rural Development Center permitted the Cooperative Extension Services, state libraries, and continuing educators from…

The items in this book were drawn from a symposium intended to (1) recommend priorities in national educational policy relating to reading; (2) focus attention on the essential role of an active two-way, family-school partnership in encouraging reading as a lifetime habit; and (3) help various organizations concerned with literacy and reading…

The aim of this seminar was twofold: to make senior civil servants of Zimbabwe aware of the importance of information and documentation for planning and decision-making, and to introduce the concept of a national information and documentation center (NIDC) as designed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Pan-African Documentation…