Describes electronic document delivery systems used by libraries and document image processing systems used for business purposes. Topics discussed include technical specifications; analogue read-only laser videodiscs; compact discs and CD-ROM; WORM; facsimile; ADONIS (Article Delivery over Network Information System); DOCDEL; and systems at the…

Examines literacy as a discourse of power as it applies to linguistic minorities in this theoretical article. Literacy needs to be redefined for librarians to be able to provide people whose languages are not the dominant or official ones in society with appropriate literacy services. Contains 51 references. (Author/LRW)

Reports results of a survey of Pennsylvania bookmobile users that was conducted to determine user characteristics. Responses to 13 questions are reported, including age, sex, occupation, value placed on bookmobile service, distance from the nearest public library, and reasons for using the bookmobile. (LRW)

This project provides a critical evaluation of networked resources as they relate to the library's collection development policy, identifies areas of the curriculum not well represented, establishes a reliable method of assessing usage across all resources, and develops a framework of quantitative data for collection development decision making.

The postmodern world is characterized, in part, by the blurring of boundaries, diminishing hierarchy and control, and non-linear thinking. These characteristics challenge and redefine how collections are managed now and in the future. This paper focuses on learning outcomes, collection assessment, and holistic budgeting in liberal arts college…

This column describes the latest innovation in iPod use, podcasts, which are audio files that can be downloaded and played either through a computer or an MP3 player such as an iPod. Because they are feeds, users can subscribe to podcasts and have them downloaded automatically to their computers. The author discusses ways in which podcasts may be…

Pure energy: that is one way to describe Veronda Pitchford, the assistant director of Chicago's Metropolitan Library System (MLS). And she uses that energy to transform the profession one recruit, one project, one library supporter at a time. At work, she is involved with recruitment and taps her public relations B.A. to help member libraries…

Libraries await their uncertain fate as they transform literacy development and the vital service they provide to the needy children in the nation. If we let the libraries die, then the hopes of young generation will slip away as they will be left without access to necessary support.

Most people don't realize how easy it is to improve library services with open source databases. Despite the fact that they are distributed free of charge, open source databases are powerful and stable enough for critical applications. With a little knowledge of HTML and some basic technical skills, you can quickly create databases to register…

This article details the work of Jennifer Hain-Teper, from the University of Illinois Library. For Jennifer Hain Teper, it all began with a simple question: "If you could do anything at all, regardless of pay, what would it be?" This was posed by a friend when Hain Teper was a volunteer at the wildflower research center in Austin, TX.…

Teacher-librarians need to convey the message to students that they are willing to help them find what they need in the library. However, teacher-librarians also need to teach them how to help themselves. In this article, the author asserts that is is inappropriate for teacher-librarians to teach to students that they cannot find information for…

In 1999, Steve Coffman proposed that libraries form a single interlibrary loan based entity patterned after Amazon.com. This study examined the suitability of Amazon.com's Web interface and record enhancements for academic libraries. Amazon.com could not deliver circulating monographs in the University at Albany Libraries' collection quickly…

Sensing that their libraries are in competition with local bookstores that offer leisurely atmospheres, warm aromatic drinks, and prominently displayed books and other materials by genre, many librarians have considered "shelving" the Dewey decimal system in order to rearrange their libraries in a similar fashion. The author of this article, a…

The Special Libraries' Association (SLA) has conducted salary surveys since 1967, triennially from 1967 to 1990, biennially from 1990 to 1996 and annually from 1997 forward. The objectives of the annual Salary Survey are to: (1) Collect and analyze systematic, accurate information about the salaries of special librarians and information…

This report presents tabulations for the 2006 Academic Libraries Survey (ALS) conducted by the United States Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences. An academic library is defined as an entity in a postsecondary institution that provides all of the following: An…