Describes the development of the Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) by the Library of Congress and partner libraries that provides professional reference service to users through an international digital network of libraries. Discusses the benefits of searching library collections rather than just Internet sources and considers future…

Discusses extended hours of operation for school library media centers and describes how to plan for them. Considers benefits of extended hours; planning questions; staffing, including volunteers; costs and funding; security; and patron use of extended hours. (LRW)

Identifies public library policies, programs, services, or practices that have ruined customer relations and offers suggestions on how they could have been avoided. Highlights include automated telephone answering systems; staff monitoring of computer use; self-service equipment, particularly photocopiers; release forms; staff parking; loan…

In creating Australia's first prime ministerial library, a new cultural institution was developed which blends professional practice from the fields of librarianship, education, archives, journalism and museums. The John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library honours the contribution of wartime prime minister John Curtin, works towards the advancement…

In response to significant changes in the Indigenous information landscape, the State Library of New South Wales and Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology, Sydney, hosted a Colloquium, "Libraries and Indigenous Knowledge," in December 2004. The two-day Colloquium brought together professionals, practitioners and…

This article assesses both the extent of students' use of open Web resources and library subscription databases and professors' satisfaction with that use as reported by a survey of 120 community college and university English faculty. It was concluded that although library budgets allocate significant funds to offer subscription databases,…

"Community involvement," the standard cliche, does not come close to capturing the spirit and action that have structured the building, programs, collections, and services of the Haines Borough Public Library (HBPL), AK. Those achievements make HBPL the winner of the first annual award for the Best Small Library in America, cosponsored…

Academic libraries today are complex institutions with multiple roles and a host of related operations and services developed over the years. Yet their fundamental purpose has remained the same: to provide access to trustworthy, authoritative knowledge. Consequently, academic libraries--along with their private and governmental counterparts--have…

This qualitative research study investigates the uses of an American college library by ESL students in improving their language skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Language learning activities in the library are identified, described, and placed in a framework of self-directed language learning and language learner autonomy.

The author reviews the evolution of the Circulation Department at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) Library and Information Center from 2001 to the present. It is shown how a traditional circulation department with poor customer relations transformed itself by adopting innovative policies and services leading to improved customer…

This paper focuses on how an academic library managed changes in services and space to meet customer needs for streamlined services, increasing efficiency for students, faculty and staff in finding, analyzing, sharing, and producing knowledge. The Ohio State University's John A. Prior Health Sciences Library (PHSL) has merged its circulation and…

There are occasions at a busy reference desk when contact time with patrons is limited. A solution to this is to create a mediated reference search service where librarians can have the luxury of conducting extended reference interviews. One-on-one searching services can be very beneficial for library patrons, including students, staff,…

This article highlights the LSTA-grant funded California Local History Digital Resources Project (LHDRP) as a case study of a collaborative statewide program involving three primary groups: cultural heritage institutions, grant funding agencies, and digital library service providers. It explores how the infrastructure of the California Digital…

Now that "everything is on the Net," what are the roles of K-12 libraries and librarians in a digital-age learning environment? School library media specialists (SLMSs) work with classroom instructors and learners throughout the educational process: from curriculum development to unit/module/lesson plan development and delivery, integrating…

Patrons in academic libraries want convenient 24-hour access to full-text journals in a rapid, convenient manner. They want "anytime, anywhere" access to information and they do not want to enter a library to obtain it. This article describes how Eastern Washington University Libraries provide access to full-text journals through several…