The 17 essays collected in this text are concerned with measuring community information needs (especially in health and welfare) and designing library service systems to satisfy those needs. Part I provides background which helps to identify the needs of individuals and groups and traces the development of information and referral services. Part…

To determine the information needs of residents of small- and medium-sized cities in the manner previously used for large cities in Baltimore, a multistage survey was conducted of randomly-selected households in Syracuse and Elmira, New York. An information need was defined as "a problem or question recognized by an individual for which…

To bring intensive information input to Alaskans within poverty groups, an interagency activity is proposed that would employ 12 VISTA volunteers as community information aides with the Fairbanks North Star Borough Library serving as the center for the assembly and generation of information and the dissemination of information through multimedia…

Describes the Maggie III automated library system, which supports a public access catalog, cataloging interface, bibliographic maintenance, circulation, electronic mail, and community information databases, with acquisitions and serials modules planned. Sidebars describe the community information database's structure, planned use of software by…

Designed for use by public and school librarians as a starting point in developing educational programs, this annotated list of resources on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) includes pamphlets, films and video, fiction and non-fiction books, posters, organizations, and hotlines. The importance of AIDS education programs is emphasized.…

Describes three ways in which libraries use computers to enhance reference services: "Answers," the community information and referral service at Memorial Hall Library, Andover, Massachusetts; the Hot Topics File at State University of New York/Oswego, Penfield Library; and features of RLIN and WLN databases which make them valuable…

Demonstrates how rural news media can be used effectively and without substantial cost for consultation, education, and prevention activities in mental health care. Offers suggestions on packaging free rural mental health activities, lists categories of prevention activities readily accomplished through media, and provides specific rural examples.…

Provides data on what residents of eight rural intermountain communities in Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming perceive to be their informational and educational needs. Community interest inventories, profile of respondents, use of community informational sources, ability to obtain information from external sources, and evaluation of…

Four papers describe systems adopted by public libraries in the United States for computerizing community information services and information and referral programs. Word processing at the Fresno County Information and Referral Network and the automation of library processes in the Pikes Peak Library District are among the topics discussed. (JL)

Describes the growth and operations of the Crouch Neighbourhood Resource Centre, a multi-service, inter-agency, community information center housed in a branch library, and discusses its impact on library services. (CWM)

Reports on the results of a study of a community computing system, Prairienet. Examines characteristics of users and the extent to which Prairienet is serving its purpose as a community resource for networked communication and information access, through the analysis of usage patterns and logs. (Author/AEF)

Details the Rockford (Illinois) Public Library's activities involved with developing a community online information system and the not-for-profit organization established to run the system. Includes mission statement; guiding principles, policy statements; standing committees and goals for first year of operation; funding; adding users and…

The Canadian city of Lloydminster created an agency to promote import replacement by matching consumer needs of schools and other institutions with local suppliers via monthly newsletters, open houses, reverse trade shows, and a computerized database of regional businesses. Dollars retained in the community, new jobs, and development of local…

Systematically examines the provision of health information in Ontario's larger public libraries. The survey, which elicited a 90 percent response rate, showed that health requests accounted for about 8 percent of all reference questions. The major problems faced by public librarians in providing health information were incomplete or unclear…

Counseling for HIV prevention and antibody testing is at the forefront of psychological support services. Recently, there has been a determined effort to develop a range of psychotherapeutic approaches to help people cope with and adjust to living with terminal illness. Introduces a growing interest in the field for counseling those affected by…