Discusses advancements in information technology and their impact on library services and library management. Highlights include the relationship of libraries and computer centers; online catalogs; organizational changes; planning strategies; document delivery services; the use of CD-ROM; problems with adopting new technologies; and possible…

Offers suggestions relating to the general characteristics of young readers to aid library media specialists in effective teaching and communication. Topics discussed include physical access, dependence, and activity levels; the use of games and dramatic play; children's interests; conceptual development; and emotional needs and behaviors. (CLB)

Libraries are moving to an environment where information resources are located worldwide and can be accessed from remote locations. Librarians need to free themselves from the constraints of the reference desk. Implementing a hierarchical model with a mix of librarian and nonlibrarian staffing can improve user services. (JMV)

Discusses ways in which academic and public librarians can provide help with multicultural and international topics in spite of unhelpful subject headings and weak collections, including an awareness of cultural bias; collection policies to support diversity; relearning the collections and access strategies; and restructuring reference searches.…

Discusses applications of Lotus Notes groupware developed by MCI Communications Corporation librarians. The development of administrative databases used for reference request tracking, interlibrary loan, book ordering and other purposes, and corporate wide databases used to disseminate internal and external information are described. The strengths…

Examines Margaret Edwards' contribution to young adult services against the backdrop of contemporary ideas and practices. The following issues of young adult librarianship are discussed: Edwards and young adult literature; the balance between readers' advisory and reference services; and the role of the young adult librarian. (JLB)

Describes the library at Rockefeller University and considers how it may be a model for future research libraries, i.e., the distributed library relying on remote resources. Highlights include resource sharing and interlibrary loan; research and scholarly interactions focused outside the library; decentralization of research information; and a…

Defines at-risk adolescent students, including remedial readers, pregnant teenagers, handicapped students, speakers of English as a Second Language, and public library dropouts; and describes literacy programs that enhance self-esteem and establish the library as an alternative learning source, many developed in a literacy course at the University…

Describes bookmobile service to Amish users in Holmes County (Ohio). Highlights include differences between students from public and parochial Amish schools; censorship; adult women users; requested fiction and nonfiction materials; and the need to understand Amish patron needs to be successful. (LRW)

Uses OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) interlibrary loan (ILL) statistics to support a presentation of trends in library access, ownership and resource sharing. Statistical tables and a discussion of ILL activity specifically focus on ILL's increasing technological and economic requirements. Suggestions are made on how libraries may meet these…

Examines issues affecting the future of rural libraries, including change in rural populations; shifts in rural library users; factors affecting their ability to deliver service, including funding and staffing; technological developments; private sector competition; changing user expectations; and leadership needs. (LRW)

Assessed library instruction initiatives with respect to OPACs by surveying 414 academic, public, school, and special libraries. Most participants' libraries have modified library OPAC software; librarians continue to teach use of the online catalog; few systems have built-in tutorials; and few have computer-assisted instruction. (Author/JKP)

Discussion of the use of CD-ROM technology at the University of Bahrain highlights database searching, interlibrary loan activity, and faculty publication. Statistics show that the acquisition of CD-ROM databases is a significant factor in an increase in faculty research publication output. (14 references) (LRW)

Describes considerations involved in implementing an electronic current awareness service in academic and research organizations, including user needs; personal bibliographic software; data sources, including floppy disk databases, CD-ROM, online databases, and library catalogs; staffing; fees; promotion; search profiles; and recordkeeping.…

Discusses a decline in patron requests for librarian-mediated searches of MEDLINE at Yale University's medical library and describes results of a survey that was conducted to determine possible reasons. The influences of miniMEDLINE (an in-house version), online end-user systems, and CD-ROMs outside the library are examined. (five references) (LRW)