One candidate for president-elect of the American Library Association (ALA) is a woman, the other is a man. One can tell them apart by looking at them. But Nancy Davenport and James Rettig are not that far apart on the issues that confront the old association and the profession it serves. They have selected slightly different emphases for their…

If one wanted to win a library election in 2006, what would have been the mythical perfect referenda? For building referenda, the sweet spot was hit with measures over $10 million, on a ballot sometime between September and December, with no other items on the ballot, in a general election, for a library serving a population under 100,000. For the…

These Guidelines constitute the third edition of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) "Multicultural Communities: "Guidelines for Library Services." This revision follows the IFLA Section of Library Services to Multicultural Populations' "2006-2010 Strategic Plans": to review and revise the…

A library media specialist already knows from library school some things that he/she should do, namely collaborate with teachers to integrate information skills instruction with classroom content, encourage reading, teach wise use of technology, and advocate for the library media center program. Maybe what isn't talked about as much is what a…

The paper introduces a directory of Schools of Librarianship and Information Sciences in Latin America. This was based on existing printed directories, and an extensive web search in January 2007. An appended directory lists 127 institutions in the region that have or are currently offering courses in the subject, of which 100 appear to be active.…

Interlibrary lending is often overlooked when resource-sharing operations are evaluated. The relevant literature shows a lack of current lending studies. It can be difficult to convince administrators that lending should be considered to be as important as borrowing in spite of the fact that one cannot operate without the other. 26,800 cancelled…

The Web-at-Risk project is a digital preservation project funded by the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program. The project is developing a Web archiving service to enable curators to build, store, and manage archived collections of Web-published materials captured largely from U.S.…

Library and Information Services (LIS) providers are vulnerable in the current war for talent. They need to work collaboratively to develop accurate workforce data so they can retain and recruit the right people. In South Australia, the issue has a level of urgency above other States as the demographic is skewed to older workers. Organisations…

School libraries serving children and teenagers today should be committed to collecting graphic novels to the extent that their budgets allow. However, the term "graphic novel" is enough to make some librarians--not to mention administrators and parents--pause. Graphic novels are simply book-length comics. They can be works of fiction or…

This book is for community leaders, librarians, library committees, volunteers, aid workers and others who are interested in the practical aspect of starting and maintaining a successful library. Throughout the developing world, countless dedicated people respond to the pressing need for information in their communities by helping to start 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…

In August 2007, an $11.2 million proposal for a shared statewide high-density storage facility was submitted to the Board of Governors, the governing body of the State University System in Florida. The project was subsequently approved at a slightly lower level and funding was delayed until 2010/2011. The experiences of coordinating data…

Library media specialists make it a point to be sure their students and parents know they are responsible for the books and other materials that they borrow from the library media centers. In her K-2 library media center, the author sends friendly letters home at the beginning of the school term informing the parents that they and their child are…

In this article, the author discusses the benefits offered by integrated library systems (ILS) for making more informed decisions. Library software vendors, realizing ILS products can reveal business intelligence, have begun to offer tools like Director's Station to help library managers get more out of their data, and librarians are taking…

Traditional budgeting starts with the previous year's budget, but zero base budgeting demands that each activity be justified from "scratch," and establishes a number of increments for each unit, in order of priority. Given the set of increments and the money available, management can determine what activities to finance. (Author)