As early as the sixth century B.C., China's imperial library served as a depository of national literature and archives, and in 1905 China's first public library was opened. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, however, library development has been sporadic. Brief examinations of some of China's major libraries reveal the status,…

The Colorado Plan for Library Development is intended to serve as a general guide for the development of library service in the state. The Plan, which includes a number of recommendations from the Nelson Associates Report of 1965 (ED 020 746), was drafted by a committee representing the Colorado Council for Library Development, the Colorado…

This survey of current library resources and services in Washington is based on questionnaires; visits to public, university, college and community college libraries in the state; and statistics from state and national governmental sources. The inventories of public and academic libraries include discussions of standards applicable to the…

The Alabama Public Library Service is charged with improving library services throughout Alabama to ensure that all citizens have access to quality library and information services. The agency is responsible for administering federal and state funds for the more than 200 public libraries in Alabama. Building renovations were completed in April…

This annual report of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) contains an overview of activities of the Council between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007. These include programs, awards, publications, advisory groups, grants and contracts, and financial statements. It also includes a list of staff, a letter from the chairperson Paula…

Libraries rely heavily on student workers for the day-to-day running of the library. Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas is no different. We report on Steen Library's training efforts to staff several public service points as well as keep materials on the shelves by cross-training student employees.

This study provides an overview of the various products available for library patrons with blindness or visual impairments. To provide some insight into the status of library services for patrons with blindness, a sample of American universities that are recognized for their programs for students with visual impairments was surveyed to discern…

In this article, the author shares how she became an advocate for school libraries. Moving into a career as a school library media specialist after five-and-a-half years as a teacher, she eventually became a delegate to the first White House Conference on Library and Information Services. At these conferences, she learned where and how decisions…

When writing the first edition of "Teen Spaces" in 2002, YA expert Bolan was challenged to find excellent examples. Now, teen spaces abound and interest continues to grow. With a strategic use of web-based technologies--from the author's website to a Flickr account--this new edition showcases success stories as it reaches out to attract a global…

The Thompson Library, the main library of The Ohio State University (OSU), began a major renovation in fall 2006 that required the library to close for three years. During this time, the bulk of the circulating collection and many of the personnel relocated to an interim facility. The distance imposed by the renovation created special challenges…

The high rate of technological change that libraries are experiencing makes it seem that the future is closer than it used to be. Rather than having some notion of the future, particularly in emerging technologies, librarians need to be kept well informed and up-to-date in the potential uses of these technologies, especially those that apply to…

As the corpus of gray literature grows and the price of serials rises, it becomes increasingly important to explore ways to integrate the free and open Web seamlessly into one's collections. Users, after all, are discovering these materials all the time via sites such as Google Scholar and Scirus or by searching arXiv.org or CiteSeer directly.…

The Web 2.0 "buzz" starts with new technologies such as virtual worlds, cell phones and handheld devices that offer 24/7 web access, tagging, social networks, and blogs and brings together various web capabilities in unique combinations. Web 2.0, however, is about much more than the technology--it is about a change in focus to participation, user…

This article provides an overview of some of the main areas surrounding the broad topic of "Digital Libraries". This includes the advantages and costs of digitisation; the traditional and digital library; the library community and digitisation; and an examination of various digital library projects. It is not exhaustive, but hopefully, it provides…

To introduce students to library research skills, university faculty often encourage them to attend hour-long presentations offered by the library. This face-to-face introduction to research skills can be disappointing, however, if students do not participate during the session. This article reports on a study that focused on improving student…