While a positive attitude for librarians helps, there is a knowledge base and a research base in the field, a structured set of protocols, and a range of skills that have to be taught and practiced at the preservice level. In this article, the author discusses the importance for librarians to exude more enthusiasm about their work. She offers…

In this article, the author shares how she follows the policy developed by the Library Advisory Council (LAC) when she acquires new books for her school library. LAC is a group of fifty or so teaching librarians from all five New York City boroughs. They meet four times a year to help the Office of School Library Services focus on issues important…

Librarians face two very pressing charges: make voluminous numbers of electronic resources as visible as possible in a landscape with multiple access points, and simultaneously manage all the technology, tasks, and data necessary to facilitate such ubiquitous access. In the past ten years, solutions have emerged and become commonplace in many…

Readers' advisory (RA) librarians use appeal to translate between readers and books, to make connections between readers and myriad other title possibilities based on the effects of the story. Appeal addresses the elements of books that readers respond to, the features that "draw a reader into a book" and help shape a particular reading…

With the pileup of responsibilities that range from programming to outreach to web management, more and more librarians are finding vendor-based book selection enticing. Most librarians see vendor-based selection as an option to relieve the pressure and still provide good collections to their patrons. However, using vendors to help facilitate…

In the summer of 2006, the New York City-based Spanish-language newspaper "La Prensa" ran a series of articles on the surprisingly stressful life of the young Latina in America. The series brought to light grim statistics uncovered in the academic community that had largely escaped the mainstream. Namely, young Latinas--ages 12-17--are more likely…

In truth, many resources are removed from the collection because one parent complained, or in some cases, because it was feared that a parent would complain. It is, therefore, helpful when questions are raised about a resource to clarify the circumstances. In this article, the author discusses on what to do when resources are being questioned or…

This article describes a computer-based technology for generating speech called text-to-speech (TTS). This software is ready for widespread use by libraries, other organizations, and individual users. It offers the affordable ability to turn just about any electronic text that is not image-based into an artificially spoken communication. The…

Issues 266 through 282 of "Fast Facts" from the Library Research Service present data collected from libraries in Colorado and throughout the nation. Topics addressed in these "Fast Facts" from 2009 include interlibrary loan in academic libraries, public librarian salaries, book, newspaper, and periodical prices from 2004 to…

This article reports the results of the second phase of a three-phase study on the impact of the New York State's school libraries' services and resources on student achievement and motivation. A representative sample of more than 1,600 classroom teachers, students, and school library media specialists (SMLSs) from 47 schools throughout New York…

Libraries of government departments provide information to policymakers, to government staff and employees, and, sometimes, to the general public. It is essential that libraries of government departments are organised and managed so as to collect and provide the information most needed by government decision makers, government workers, and the…

"ARL" is the bimonthly report on research library issues and actions from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). "ARL" reports on current issues of interest to academic and research library administrators, staff, and…

ScanGrants (www.scangrants.com) is a free, online listing of grants, scholarships, and other types of funding in the health sciences. It is basically a launch pad for anyone looking for money to fund medical research or community/public health projects, or to finance their education in various healthcare fields. The goal is to enable researchers,…

There's no shortage of library management books out there--but how many of them actually tackle the little details of day-to-day management, the hard-to-categorize things that slip through the cracks of a larger handbook? "Library Management Tips that Work" does exactly that, addressing dozens of such issues facing library managers, including: (1)…

Fewer employees, shorter hours, diminished collection budgets, reduced programs and services--all at a time of record library usage. In this book, library expert Carol Smallwood demonstrates that despite the obvious downsides, the necessity of doing business differently can be positive, leading to partnering, sharing, and innovating. This…