Considers what library outreach means in the age of networked information and suggests that outreach should focus more on libraries and librarians as resources for advice on how to search in general, rather than where to find familiar information. Discusses use of the Internet and search engines. (LRW)

Discusses mental models for online searching and the importance of understanding the user mental models and their search needs in order to teach searching and to help them effectively. Suggests that librarians should try to match the user's perspective first, not just teach a search strategy that is too complicated. (LRW)

Discusses the professional accomplishments of Anne Carroll Moore, the librarian who first introduced children's services to the New York Public Library and who pioneered modern children's book reviewing and created one of the first and most influential children's booklists of her time. She arrived at the Library in 1906 and retired in 1941 at the…

Describes a librarian's experiences in developing cooperative and collaborative relationships with classroom teachers. Discusses how she moved from a fixed-schedule library to an open, flexibly scheduled library. Suggests that, by pooling their ideas and experiences, teachers and librarians can provide students with many different kinds of…

Public library services are being modified or changed by the Internet. Questions about how to evaluate and measure electronic services have become increasingly important. This article presents an analysis of some ways to create, define, and institute electronic network measures. (Author/AEF)

An American librarian describes her experiences running a children's library in a rural town in the Philippines. Discussion includes frustrations and rewards; the children's favorite books; storytimes and games; community efforts; and her goals to leave the library a better organized, more inviting place and to teach the children how a library…

Discussion of transaction log analysis at academic libraries focuses on its use for managerial purposes, specifically personnel scheduling at the reference desk. Describes a study that examined data from two academic libraries and data from one of the libraries that had been collected 10 years ago. (LRW)

Explains how a public library can compute the actual cost of distributing tax forms to the public by listing all direct and indirect costs and demonstrating the formulae and necessary computations. Supplies directions for calculating costs involved for all levels of staff as well as associated public relations efforts, space, and utility costs.…

Describes results of a research project conducted in Illinois to obtain detailed information about preferences of public library customers and about how much value they place on various types of library services. Discusses rural perceptions of public library contributions, willingness to pay more for service, and implications for library…

As question answering services in the commercial sector proliferate, libraries are innovating with new forms of electronic reference (e-reference). The Library of Congress' Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) extends worldwide. Discussion includes reference service developments; "reclaiming" users; growth of library interest…

Considers the challenges that unattended, or latchkey, children create in public libraries. Discusses demographics and factors that have led to the increase in unattended children; typical library responses; opportunities for service to this group; elements of successful programs; future trends; and further research needs. (Contains 50…

Investigates the effect of the Internet in references services in Malaysian academic libraries, and examines library professionals' perceptions of the importance of the Internet in reference work. Respondents felt the Internet has contributed positively to reference work and has enhanced their effectiveness and efficiency; however, a majority…

Discusses some of the problems created by the introduction of the Internet to academic library services. Topics include problems with the structure of the Internet, librarians' training on the Internet, the preparedness of current users for the Internet, and the impact on bibliographic instruction. (Author/LRW)

Discusses how to develop performance standards based on objective, observable criteria and describes how the reference department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha developed standards to meet their needs. Goals for performance are explained, and preliminary and final versions of the reference desk performance standards are appended. (Contains…

Includes edited versions of four presentations on library services for homeless children originally given at the 1993 American Library Association (ALA) annual conference. Topics addressed include story times at homeless shelters and juvenile halls for teenaged felons; giveaway books; identifying needs; funding sources; and Reading Is Fundamental…