Reports findings of a survey of 48 undergraduate students regarding their perceptions of academic librarians and discusses ideas for addressing existing misconceptions. Highlights include perceptions concerning librarians' education; librarians' skills, knowledge, and expertise; librarians versus clerical workers; and librarians' attitudes toward…

Explains the need for attention to library environment in terms of conservation, disaster planning, and external environmental factors. Discusses measures adopted at the University of the West Indies Trinidad related to operation and maintenance of buildings and physical plant, describes a workplace evaluation project, and examines factors…

Discusses problems with patron Internet access in academic libraries and describes a study conducted at Northwestern University (Illinois) that used Internet tracking software to assess user Internet behavior. Topics include Internet use policies; pornography; and loss of control over library services and information content that is provided. (LRW)

Discusses how to change library information literacy classes for Generation Y students (born after 1981) to accommodate their learning styles and preferences, based on experiences at California State University, Hayward. Topics include positive outlooks toward technology; orientation toward images, not linear text; low thresholds for boredom and…

Describes a study that explored the role electronic journals currently play in faculty's weekly scholarly reading habits at the University of Georgia. Discusses faculty choices for locating full-text articles and reports survey results that indicated that electronic access to journals, particularly library-funded access, is integral to research…

Discusses a program to improve library instruction at Rider University (New Jersey) and reports on a pilot assessment. Topics include problems with assessment; student assessment tools; and five standards based on ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) standards that were designed to improve teaching methods to address learning…

Discusses the application of win-win mindsets and strategy in the employment of LIS (library and information science) graduate assistants in academic library reference services. Considers recruitment, training and support, transition, treating graduate assistants as colleagues, differences from graduate assistants who are not LIS students, and…

Discusses quality issues regarding Web sites and describes research that created an intelligent agent for automated collection development in a digital academic library setting, which uses a predictive model based on facets of each Web page to select scholarly works. Describes the use of bibliomining, or data mining for libraries. (Author/LRW)

Womens' studies librarians' view that women should be represented at the center of library collections and services generates conflict in the United States academic library. An examination of the development of a women's studies research library in the Rutgers University Libraries System between 1970 and the mid-1990s reveals the bibliographic and…

A review of college and university library home pages concluded that many higher education home pages are badly designed, difficult to navigate, and a poor reflection on the institution. The most common shortcoming was the tendency to create too many links or overly large graphics. An appendix lists points to consider when constructing a home…

Discussion of cooperation between academic and corporate libraries focuses on a case study of the library at the Colorado School of Mines where an industry information center was established. Issues in planning an industry-academic partnership are explored, including feasibility, funding, staffing, terms of agreement, and authority structures.…

Describes methods used at the University of Akron (Ohio) library to increase the usage of government publications, including cataloging that appears in the online catalog, integrating them into bibliographic instruction, listing in pathfinders, and presenting workshops. Examples are appended. (LRW)

Examines the New Colleague Program, a mentoring program for new librarians started in 1993 at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Discusses program implementation; a 1995 survey of new and senior colleagues who participated; and institutional, supervisory, and volunteer senior colleague roles. Includes the checklist for senior colleagues and the…

Renovation and construction projects in 18 public and academic libraries across the United States are showcased, with 23 photographs illustrating library interiors and exteriors. Discussion centers on architecture, costs, technology infrastructure and equipment, preservation of old facilities, furniture, and library functions. (AEF)

Describes results of two collection condition surveys conducted at the University of Kansas libraries, one of which examined materials returning from circulation and the other which examined the general collection. Paper condition, text block condition, binding, and mutilation are discussed, and the impact on long-term preservation planning is…