Traces the development of national computer networks and discusses the need for the National Research and Education Network (NREN). Topics discussed include ARAPNET, Internet, BITNET, NSFNET, the role of the government, legislative status, the Coalition for Networked Information, policy issues, technological requirements, and libraries and NREN.…

Considers the role of interlibrary loan and document delivery services in support of research collections and digital information. Highlights include current practices; licensing as it relates to interlibrary loan in the digital environment; distance education; the role of consortia; technical infrastructure; and archival retention versus…

Describes software solutions in the recent efforts of ALEPH, Israel's research library network, to create an online catalog system that could support the Roman, Hebrew, Arabic, and Cyrillic alphabets. The result is a multiscript, bidirectional system that uses soft fonts. (BEW)

Results of a study that evaluated 21 diverse services at 5 major academic research libraries demonstrate that a cross-functional approach to library services is feasible. Findings also highlight a new measure of impact, which is a weighted logarithmic combination of the amount of time that users spend interacting with the service, combined with a…

Discussion of special collections materials focuses on independent research libraries. Topics include how collection development differs; who they serve; access to the collections, including digital access; and future challenges, especially the need for increased financial support, changes in scholarly communication, and the need for increased…

Accelerating global flows of people and information have formed new communities and networks across social and political borders. Higher education is one such globalised knowledge community in which new patterns of knowledge, accreditation, research alliances, and social and professional relationships are emerging. In this paper I outline the…

Storing and curating authentic academic literature and making it accessible for the long term has been a time-honoured task of national libraries. By guarding existing knowledge and facilitating its use to produce new insights, national and university libraries have formed an integral part of the research environment, complementing the roles of…

Studies suggest that course-integrated information literacy instruction is an effective way to enhance the quality of student research. However, many political science professors are unfamiliar with the growing information literacy movement in higher education today, with strategies for integrating information literacy into their courses and…

"ARL" is the bimonthly report on research library issues and actions from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). "ARL" reports on current issues of interest to academic and research library administrators, staff and users; higher…

Reference e-mail continues to be a vital reference service. This article studies the trends in reference e-mail use over an eight year period. Usage statistics are analyzed particularly in light of the marketing of the service via changes in the location of the service on the official university libraries' Web pages. Included are recommendations…

The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) Libraries initiated its spin on digital libraries as a partner in a W. M. Keck Foundation grant awarded to the university in 1997. The overall grant ($2,250,000) supported a variety of earth science-related projects at UNR. The UNR Libraries's portion ($450,000) funded establishment of the W. M. Keck Earth…

The study reviews a research project which, inter alia, is constructing an information literacy framework linking secondary and tertiary education and arises out of research conducted in both the secondary and tertiary sectors. The Project is firmly situated in a Scottish context but draws on UK and indeed worldwide experience. It began in October…

In this age of limited resources, municipal courts scrutinize their library budgets with a view to maintaining adequate legal information sources and services at the lowest possible cost. Some courts relying on the authority of the Ohio Revised Code Section 2303.201 assess additional court costs to fund the acquisition and maintenance of…

As the entity traditionally responsible for serving the information needs of the university, research libraries have little choice but to change dramatically in the next 25 years. This SPEC Survey on library reorganization seeks to understand how librarians have sought to meet this challenge through the redesigning of their organization.…

This annual publication describes the collections, staffing, expenditures, and interlibrary loan activity of 108 university and 11 nonuniversity library members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) during the 1993-94 fiscal year. Sections I, II, III, and IV contain: a 27-item selected bibliography; summary data tables on collections,…