The University Libraries Computer Search Service (State University of New York at Albany, SUNYA) provides access to databases from many vendors including BRS, Dialog, Wilsonline, CA Search, and Westlaw. Members of the Computer Search Service, Collection Development, and Reference Service staffs select vendor services and new databases for their…

This report examines the costs of and services provided by the three major bibliographic utilities, OCLC (Online Computer Library Center), RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network), and WLN (Western Library Network). The services examined include acquisitions, cataloging, interlibrary loan, and reference. To examine costs, the format of the…

Based on a two-phase survey of 118 Association of Research Libraries member libraries which was conducted between November 1987 and January 1988, this report begins with an overview of the responses from 16 respondents who indicated that they had a centralized approach to publishing. Areas studied include the nature of centralized programs,…

The five papers in this collection focus on bibliographic control: (1) "Developments and Progress in Bibliography" (B. C. Bloomfield, Chairman, Section on Bibliography); (2) "Developments and Progress in Cataloguing" (Tom Delsey, Chairman, Section on Cataloging); (3) "Developments and Progress in Classification and…

Paradoxically, for reasons both philosophical and practical, public libraries are uniquely positioned to assist the 72 million Americans who, by virtue of being illiterate or marginally literate, are not ordinarily library users. A formal link between libraries and literacy can be traced back to the 1920s when the American Library Association…

To help determine the future of the Bibliographic Service Development Program (BSDP), the Council on Library Resources (CLR) sponsored a conference to examine bibliographic services for library users with emphasis on their needs. The 32 participants included invited speakers, research library administrators, foundation officers, network and…

A study was conducted in 1983 to determine the current state of document delivery among the libraries and non-library document services of the United States and to ascertain what improvements need to be made. Of principal concern was that part of satisfaction time--the elapsed time from the library patron's lodging of a request to the time when…

The book is intended to provide an overview of the needs of blind and physically handicapped individuals who are unable to use print resources and to describe practices designed to meet those needs. An initial section reviews the history of library services to this population, noting federal legislation and agencies which serve them. A detailed…

A Fall 1981 Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members found that of 80 respondents, 60 libraries reported 123 specialty positions involving a wide range of activities. The initial document in this kit on specialty positions in ARL libraries provides findings and statistics related to…

Prepared by the Task Force on Library Legislation appointed by Wisconsin's State Superintendent of Public Instruction, this final report presents policy statements and action recommendations addressing issues related to the organizational and funding problems of public libraries, public library systems, and multitype library cooperation. The…

The role of the public library in providing supplementary materials and services to those still in school, and offering opportunities for continuing education to the public at large is explored. Challenges facing public libraries as they attempt to respond to "A Nation at Risk" are discussed, including the decline of literacy in the…

This report describes an online public access catalog (OPAC) developed at Pennsylvania State University which downloads, manages, and manipulates data once it has been retrieved. The paper begins with a list of the 12 features of the system, which is called MicroLIAS (Library Information Access System): (1) build and fully index any number of…

Part of a series entitled "Traditional Literature and Folklore in Library and Storytelling Programs," this annotated bibliography was produced by graduate students in the Traditional Literature and Oral Narration class at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The bibliography is designed to provide librarians and teachers with information…

This document consists of two bibliographies and background material on a symposium conducted by a special interest group of the International Reading Association which provides a forum for librarians and reading teachers to share professional concerns. The document includes a discussion of the formation of the special interest group and the…

This report presents and explains new standards developed for Alabama public libraries in response to a need for a clearly articulated, easily used, and broadly based public library planning and development tool. Intended to provide an overview of the new standards, the introduction discusses why the standards were developed; their purposes; how…