With increased costs and decreased funding, it will be increasingly necessary for academic library directors to become heavily involved in fundraising, or development. Discussion includes systems development; funding sources; staffing and organization; and impacts of fundraising on the administration, staffing, and organization. (AEF)

Presents three perspectives on the future of library acquisitions. Discussion includes changing roles of academic administrators and acquisition librarians; acquisitions management and the role of the digital library; and technological development and the professional character of acquisitions. (AEF)

Support is given for extending bibliographic instruction (BI) in academic libraries to larger forms of electronic access. An argument for a team-teaching model of information-finding instruction is presented, in which the needs of doctoral students, are emphasized. This reflects specific concerns of this group and the overall importance of…

Discusses Web-based electronic journals for the academic market and presents a chart that includes sources of electronic journals and value added. Considers trends in collections, including remote access, outsourcing, hosting content versus linking, and subject portals; trends in access, including indexing, backfiles, and database usage; and…

Examines 900 job announcements published in four journals in 1996 and uses content analysis to compare requirements and benefits among various positions in academic libraries. Compares results with an earlier study from 1988, including levels of computer skills, foreign language requirements, previous work experience, educational requirements, and…

Includes two responses to Charles Martell's article on discontinuities and the future of libraries. Highlights include the changing role of librarians when the library as a place will be less important; political and economic influences; institutional changes that will affect academic libraries; and changing student learning styles. (LRW)

Analyzes the transaction logs of MAGIC, the University of Connecticut's Map and Geographic Information Center's Web accessible collection. Identifies the users of the digital collection and what information they use most. Twelve figures present statistics. (AEF)

Libraries must identify and foster the inherent personal characteristics and skills considered most relevant for leadership in the field of information management. Professional library associations play an important role in teaching and developing skills by providing experiential opportunities for their membership. Career models for academic or…

COPAC is a union catalog giving access to the online catalog records of some of the largest academic research libraries in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Discussion includes ways in which duplicate detection and record consolidation procedures are carried out, along with problem areas encountered. (Author/AEF)

Describes the development of a prototype Web-based outreach information system for a collection of educational resources in agriculture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Discusses distance education, student expectations, Web searching, testbed collections, metadata issues, indexing and searching full-text, and Dublin Core…

How do academic libraries set about creating a body of knowledge and begin to convert traditional print collections to a digital format in order to satisfy what today's researchers want? This article examines previous methods of selection and collection building, and applies those supporting principles to today's collection-building efforts for…

Discussion of building new library facilities focuses on reflections of what could be done differently after a building is completed, based on experiences at Winona State University. Topics include windows; emergency exits; wired study furniture for portable computing; rest rooms; compact shelving; OPAC terminals; elevators; and functionality.…

Discussion of academic library instruction focuses on the use of humor to make it more effective. Highlights include a literature review on humor in education, as a communication device, and use in the business sector; a stand-up comedy workshop; lecture humor; and humorous active learning activities. (LRW)

Analyzes the impact of the rising cost of materials on academic libraries as reflected in members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Highlights include total library expenditures; materials expenditures; comparisons with price indexes; and the impact of journal…

Discusses emerging organizational structures of academic libraries and identifies core competencies for academic reference librarians, including a flexible attitude and approach toward technology, a high tolerance for rapid technological change, creativity, curiosity, communication skills, public relations savvy, and the ability to relate…