This article is designed to help public libraries provide support for people with mental retardation through the implementation of "Guidelines for Library Services for People with Mental Retardation", developed by the American Library Association. Topics include needs assessment; staff training; adaptive technology; resource formats,…

Discussion of financial allocations by universities for library materials focuses on a study of fine arts faculty at Texas Tech University that identifies information services, sources, and materials that they consider important for their teaching, research, and creative endeavors; and investigates their use of library services. (Author/LRW)

Academic libraries are turning increasingly to internship/residency programs to enhance recruitment efforts. Outlines necessary components of an evaluation model for internship/residency programs based on a survey of academic library deans/directors and program coordinators. Identifies key evaluation factors that library administrators consider…

Authority control is a vital part of providing students and faculty with adequate access to collections in university libraries. Small and medium-sized libraries find it challenging to meet rising user expectations and provide adequate access in an online environment through appropriate authority work. A planning process is offered on an authority…

Discusses library services to prison inmates. Topics include self-improvement for inmates; library collections; the public's attitude toward inmates and its effects on library services; due process of law and the Fifth Amendment; dress codes and procedures; reference interviews; differences in women's and men's prisons; information technology; and…

Discusses the value of book fairs to encourage reading and offers suggestions for planning them. Considers sponsorship, location and timing, sources to get books from, how to select books, marketing, library programs connected with the fair, volunteers, and who receives the profits. (LRW)

Analyzes the implications of electronic book technology (e-books) on academic libraries. Discusses new business models for publishers, including self-publishing, Internet publishing, and partnerships with libraries as publishers; impact on library services, including cataloging, circulation, and digital preservation; user benefits; standards;…

If libraries what influential people in their service areas to regard them as full partners in community building, libraries need to know their information needs before they do, and get the resources into their hands that will facilitate their decision-making before they realize they need it. Suggestions are provided for effective marketing of…

Pre-service teachers use Curriculum Materials Centers (CMCs) to find resources to use in assignments for college-level pre-service coursework and to use in practice teaching with PK-12 students. CMCs that visually and environmentally resemble school library media centers can transition pre-service CMC users into classroom teachers who use school…

This article aims to provide a baseline for future studies on the provision and support for the use of digital or electronic information services (EIS) in further education. The analysis presented is based on a multi-level model of access, which encompasses access to and availability of information and communication technology (ICT) resources,…

This article describes the conception, implementation, and current status of Rakim open source software at Midlands Technical college in Columbia, SC. Midlands Technical College (MTC) is a 2-year school in Columbia, S.C. It has two large campuses and three smaller campuses. Although the library functions as a single unit, there are separate…

The following article describes a literature review on factors that went into the planning for a new circulation/reserves desk at the Livingston Lord Library at Minnesota State University, Moorhead. Many issues have been reported in the literature and must be considered when designing a functional, convenient, and ADA-compliant…

Collection development in the highly specialized area of the United States merchant marine, which includes navigation, marine engineering, shipping, naval architecture and shipbuilding, and seamanship, requires familiarity with the national and international organizations, governmental and other, which regulate and oversee the marine industry.…

Library home pages and digital library sites have many properties and purposes in common with the Baroque wall-system libraries of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe. Like their Baroque antecedents, contemporary library Web sites exploit the moment of entrance and the experience of the threshold to create and sustain the illusion of a…

Many students who enroll in a community college "Information Research" course come from three local school districts. Of those three districts, only one has librarians. Through examining grade rosters, this study demonstrates that student achievement is substantially higher for students who come from high schools that have librarians and…