Distance learners are a unique target-population for the marketing of library services and resources. Because these patrons do not visit the library often, if at all, it is crucial to actively promote the library resources and services available to them. Marketing strategies for distance learning library services need to take a multifaceted…

This article describes the early experience of an Information Officer appointed within a newly formed primary health care team in the new township of Cambourne, west of Cambridge. The post was jointly defined and funded through a partnership between Cambridgeshire Libraries, the Primary Care Trust and Monkfield Medical Practice. The article…

Fremont Rider's 1944 book, "The Scholar and the Future of the Research Library", had a major impact on research library thinking. The issues raised by Rider, such as research library economics, collection, acquisition and management policies, and library cooperation still resonate today, although his technology solutions have long since been…

This article features ImaginOn: The Joe and Joan Martin Center," a learning facility wherein students are provided with an original approach to education, learning, and the arts. ImaginOn is a joint venture of the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLMC) and the Children's Theater of Charlotte. ImaginOn's mission is to "bring…

Online library services have been mostly available uniquely in English. To serve the diverse communities that uses library services, a growing number of libraries have been investigating the ins and outs of offering virtual reference in languages other than English. Developing this kind of service in languages spoken by various library user groups…

In this article the authors discuss how they implemented and promoted Geographic Information System (GIS) applications at Weber State University (WSU), a four-year public institution with two campuses. GIS is a type of computer system made of hardware, software, and data that allows the mapping of spatially related layers that have a common…

Short on funding and IT staff, a Western Canada library struggled to provide adequate public computing resources. Staff turned to a Linux-based solution that supports up to 10 users from a single computer, and blends Web browsing and productivity applications with session management, Internet filtering, and user authentication. In this article,…

If managed well, electronic journals (e-journals) can be extremely efficient, saving money and space while improving access and speeding information delivery. With the help of the Internet, e-journals can also make library collections more accessible to both users and staff. Covering the process of managing electronic serials from licensing,…

Three sources indicated the need for designing a usability study of the Western Michigan University Libraries' Web site: the results of the 2004 LibQUAL+ survey; the completion of the library's new strategic planning document; and suggestions by library customers and library staff. LibQUAL+ findings and customer comments suggested customers…

In many ways, science classrooms and school library media centers are parallel universes struggling with their own reform issues and with documenting their own positive impacts. As the trend toward data-driven decisions grows in the school setting, it is increasingly important for every component of the learning environment to have demonstrable…

Twenty-one scholarly papers and fourteen abstracts comprise the content of the ninth annual "Brick and Click Libraries Symposium," held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The peer-reviewed proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future…

Since the Office of Library and Information Services published the first Rhode Island trustees manual in 1980, Rhode Island public libraries have continued to respond to an ever increasing demand for service. In so doing, they consistently have taken advantage of new opportunities to provide this service more efficiently and effectively via…

This article examines the relevance of training and skills development to modern librarianship in the first generation universities in Nigeria. The developments noticed in this sector in the universities within the past decade made it imperative to have new workers with new skills to adopt to the many changes that have taken place that are likely…

Building on the information needs and the learning style preferences of today's high school students, the author builds a case for using pop culture (TV shows, fads, and current technology) to build integrated information skills lessons for students. Chapters include a rationale, a review of the current literature, and examples of units of study…

Library media specialists have been collaborating with classroom teachers for years and have long been advocates for tying the classroom curriculum to the library media center in real-world ways. Current reading research focuses on the many aspects of learning to read, including phonics and alphabet recognition, vocabulary building, fluency, and…