Part of a series edited by Jean E. Lowrie. Part One is LI 500.

Presents an overview of the impact of fiber optics on telecommunications and its application to information processing and library services, including information retrieval, news services, remote transmission of library services, and library networking. (RAA)

Discusses the ways in which the commercial sector can support traditional library services and create innovative products and services to meet future information needs. Eight references are cited. (FM)

Describes four elements of consulting in library networks: network client groups, potential sources of consultants, categories of network consulting, and difficulties in network-related consulting. (FM)

Identifies four categories of need for library service to migrants, highlighted in a 1972-73 survey, and describes initiatives and efforts by the Australian government and libraries to address those needs. (JD)

Discusses the development of regionally organized electronic library services within the United Kingdom's National Health Service, Examines evidence for the effectiveness of electronic library services and considers the interdependence of electronic and conventional library services. (Author/LRW)

Provides background on the establishment of the Congressional Research Service, focusing on the growth of reference services and special librarianship during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The contributions of Melvil Dewey and Charles McCarthy, as well as legislative reference work in the Library of Congress, are discussed. (10…

Discussion of the puppetry program at the Austin (TX) Public Library describes the types of shows, staff training procedures, story selection, puppet construction, and special effects. (MES)

Identifies the major aspects of reference service and develops three theories of reference work (minimum, middling, and maximum) based on the application of these activities in various types of libraries. A case is then made for amplified reference services, and suggestions are offered for dealing with the problems of reference service expansion.…

Reviews the literature on reference service, particularly the reference interview, from 1876 to the 1970s and summarizes some research techniques used to investigate the reference encounter. Studies of reference clients are then briefly reviewed, and concerns of reference librarians regarding the level of assistance and the library-client…

Summarizes information about public libraries, including their number, administrative structure and legal basis, operating income and expenditures, staffing and collections, and services. Data from the Public Libraries Survey of the National Center for Education Statistics reflect the 8,967 public libraries in the 50 states and the District of…

When the first career test, back in high school, pointed to librarianship, Miguel Figueroa "just blew it off." But when a similar test in the senior year of college produced the same result, Figueroa, like the librarian and editor that he is today, did his research and called three libraries (a public, an academic, and a school media…