Examines the legal and ethical responsibilities of independent information professionals and describes a number of strategies to avoid being found liable for information malpractice. These include developing good client relations, contracts and disclaimers, competent performance, and insurance. A sidebar by John Rosenberg, discusses the issue of…

Reviews several surveys on public attitude towards science and technology. Provides some questions and the response distribution tables across years. Discusses the survey research organizations, survey methodology, evaluation of the survey, and conclusions. (YP)

Discusses the trend toward the provision of educational services by special libraries. Examples of educational services provided by law libraries, health and science libraries, and corporate libraries are reviewed, new educational formats are described, and factors that should influence the decision to provide educational services are identified.…

Discusses the effects of mass media for purveying a negative image of women scientists. Describes issues related to authors of science journals, role models for ordinary scientist, and dual career problems. (YP)

Dispels misconceptions about print journal publishing so electronic publishing will not be based on old myths. Explains the truth behind 10 myths that have arisen in the publishing community over the past 20 years. Finds that scientists are using more library-provided journals, and that libraries are reducing journal collections by relying on…

Describes major aspects of the Pupil Researcher Initiative, a curriculum development project aimed at encouraging pupils, teachers, researchers, and the wider community to work together to stimulate interest and enthusiasm for science and engineering. (JRH)

Examines the evolution of information brokering, the business of buying and selling information as a commodity. Topics include the development of techniques for information distribution; information publications; information over the telephone; moving librarians out of the library; and exploring the field with personal computers. (AEF)

Discusses areas to consider when interviewing an information broker. Topics include the educational background of the broker; access to online and nononline sources; fees and business practices; specialization; subcontracting; and questions a good broker should ask. (AEF)

Includes abstracts of 18 special interest group (SIG) sessions. Highlights include natural language processing, information science and terminology science, classification, knowledge-intensive information systems, information value and ownership issues, economics and theories of information science, information retrieval interfaces, fuzzy thinking…

Discusses the changing nature of library and information professions in response to the impact of emerging technology and examines necessary changes in library and information studies school curriculums to adapt to and reflect the needs of future practitioners. Highlights include a review of educational models, philosophies, and change strategies.…

Presents issues relating to equality of access to information technology and the Internet for the African American community. Provides suggestions for measures that black information professionals can take to ensure universal access to information and affirmative entrepreneurial opportunities. (JKP)

An alternative procedure to the draw-a-scientist test (DAST) was used to uncover students ideas about science, scientists, and technology. A series of illustrations (based on the interview-about-instances (IAI) procedure) concerned with appearance, gender, work place, and employment were developed. Through interviews, students (n=121) responded to…

Maintains that, as a historian, social critic, and moralist, Christopher Lasch was a powerful presence in U.S. intellectual life. Presents an interview with Lasch prior to his death in February 1994. Reports that Lasch believed that optimism is a kind of investment in the future whereas hope is the rejection of envy and resentment. (CFR)

Lists 29 books and articles that the author considers classics in the field of information science. The background and major ideas of each work are discussed, and information about authors is provided. Topics covered include economics of information, inventive insight, techno-sociology, personal information systems, humor, speech recognition,…

Discusses the significance of Irwin Abrams to the field of peace history. Describes Abrams' personal life, his work with the American Friends Service Committee, his scholarly work, and his leadership in peace history. Concludes by discussing his research on the Nobel Peace Prize and its recipients. (CFR)