Public libraries are heavily affected by political and policy-making processes that shape the funding, activities, and roles of libraries in society, with the explosion of information policy decisions in the past two decades significantly increasing the responsibilities of libraries while also increasing limitations on their activities. Research…

Colleges share many things on Twitter, but one topic can be risky to broach: the reading habits of library patrons. Patrons' privacy is precious to most librarians. Yet new Web services thrive on collecting and sharing the very information that has long been protected. This points to an emerging tension as libraries embrace digital services.…

U.S. public libraries provide free public internet services to the communities that they serve, but require robust, high-speed broadband internet connections to continue meeting public demands. The 2008-2009 "Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study" ("PLFTAS") illustrates challenges that public libraries encounter in achieving broadband…

This book provides a selection of documentary background information on areas of the Information Highway debate that are particularly relevant to libraries. The book is designed for librarians who are online but have little time to explore the general areas of information policy, and for those not yet connected to the Internet who need to…

This monograph presents examples of typical public school situations involving copyright issues and gives practical advice that is based on a conservative interpretation of the copyright law. One new feature of this second edition is fair use guidelines for multimedia materials. Chapter topics include: (1) history and liability; (2) fair use; (3)…

This paper provides a snapshot of the computer network security industry and addresses specific issues related to network security in public education. The following topics are covered: (1) security policy, including reasons for establishing a policy, risk assessment, areas to consider, audit tools; (2) workstations, including physical security,…

This book provides librarians, researchers, and teachers with a comprehensive guide to technology and copyright issues, and is written for non-lawyers. Part 1 summarizes the historical and legal background and looks at future trends, including the probable effects of recommendations from the National Information Infrastructure report. Part 2…

The Internet is an international computer network encompassing thousands of smaller interconnected networks. This digest describes various uses of the Internet and its impact on libraries, as well as Internet-related library issues. The Internet applications of electronic mail (E-mail), telnet, and file transfer protocol (FTP) are briefly…

This step-by-step guide introduces school library media specialists to the Internet, addressing their distinct needs and the unique relationships that exist between media specialists, their students, and classroom colleagues. The book explains how to incorporate the Internet into the media center, cites exemplary World Wide Web sites for media…