This report includes national and state summary data on public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with an introduction, findings, and numerous tables. The report is based on data from the Public Libraries Survey for fiscal year 2004, and includes information on population of legal service area, service outlets, public service…

This article discusses the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR), a plan that is quickly gaining the support of library organizations around the globe. The FRBR Study Group was appointed by International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and issued its final report in 1998. The report redefines the basic unit of…

Blogging offers an alternative and sometimes superior way to communicate with library patrons. It provides an opportunity to speak more directly to them, and it does so in a manner that is more comfortable and convenient for all involved. A library's Web site may be the only interaction that patrons have with the organization, so it makes sense to…

It seems that the demand for public access computers grows exponentially every time a library network is expanded, making it impossible to ever have enough computers available for patrons. One solution that many libraries are implementing to ease the demand for public computer use is to offer wireless technology that allows patrons to bring in…

New product development is an omnipresent challenge to modern libraries in the information age. Therefore, we present the design and selected results of a comprehensive research project aiming at the systematic and user-oriented planning of academic library services by means of conjoint analysis. The applicability of the analytical framework used…

The Guidelines are focused on the library services to babies and toddlers, their families and supporting organizations dealing with early literacy and appropriate services for the very young. Early brain development research has shown the unequivocal impact that talking, singing and reading to babies and toddlers can have on their acquisition of…

"When you start your new job as a school librarian, one of the first steps you must take is to ask to see the district's book selection policy. If there isn't one, write one. Right away. It protects you, the teachers, and the district." That advice was part of the author's school library administration course at the School of Library and…

This article presents an interview with Cassandra Barnett, a school library media specialist at Fayetteville (Arkansas) High School. She is also a member of the AASL Learning Standards Rewrite Task Force, which has been working on developing AASL's new National Learning Standards. Fayetteville schools experienced multiple challenges during…

Factors discussed include the amount of time that library faculty members devote to supervision, the interaction of the library faculty and the library administration, and the role of the library faculty in participative management. (Author/PF)

Explores the increasing difficulty that library decision-makers will face in proving the value of libraries to society, and suggests appropriate questions that they will want to ask in their use of community analysis. (Author/PF)

Several models and methods applicable to university library networks are discussed as tools to increase understanding of cause and effect relationships in these complex organizations. Collection of data by unobtrusive measures and display of information by graphic techniques are briefly described. (Author)

This paper examines the use of language as a tool to gain a position of leadership, to improve the caliber of leadership, or to expand the territory of leadership in any situation, and in libraries in particular. The discussion begins with a brief analysis of the process of spoken, written, and nonverbal communication, with an emphasis on…

This paper presents a simple model of the communication process and discusses the transmission of meaning from the sender to the receiver of a message. The model is applied to the library organization, and problems which may arise from various interpretations of messages are considered. The relationship between information and meaning is then…

Based on the relocation of the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) Library, this paper explores the importance of communication in project management. Definitions of project management are followed by an overview of the UTK move and discussions of the role of the project director, possible causes of mismatches between responsibilities and…