This overview of the telecommunications environment discusses: (1) influences of technology, economics, politics, and government; (2) legal separations and jurisdictions; (3) pricing policies; and (4) bypass of local facilities. Probable changes and impacts on national and local information servers, local telecommunications carriers, and…

On January 15, 2005, a standing-room-only crowd of librarians listened as a panel of experts, moderated by Columbia University's Jim Neal, voiced support for the National Institute of Health's (NIH) proposal to mandate free online access to the research it funds. This article briefly discusses some personal accounts where open access would have…

Describes the lack of progress toward national information systems and discusses the needs of users and the role of technical documentary reports, project information systems, and scientific journals. Proposals for various national information systems and federal government involvement in scientific and technical information since 1790 are…

This report presents the steps and actions that public libraries may take to begin to meet the needs for literacy training in their individual communities. Outlined are three major approaches that libraries can consider when addressing the literacy needs of their communities: (1) initiating a literacy program; (2) cooperating with an existing…

Documentation of the spread of censorship is extensive, and although challenges to films and videocassettes have not figured prominently in the literature, in the future there may be more emphasis on these media than on print material. On the state level, increasing censorship of films and videocassettes has occurred in North Carolina, California,…

Discussion of barriers that prevent open and free access to government information highlights federal policies toward reduced data collection for and dissemination of agency studies and privatization of these functions; the use of microforms and computer technologies as media for government information; and the quality of depository library…

Examines three key federal information issues from an economic perspective: what information the government should make available to the public; whether government information should be disseminated via governmental or private means; and whether costs of transmission should be borne by the public at large or by the information user. (CDD)

The first of two articles examines the process of obtaining federal aid in Australia by comparing a successful effort by school libraries and a failure to obtain public library funding. The second explores the potentially negative effects of defending professional rights and status to the extent of alienating funding agencies. (CLB)

This new edition retains the underlying principles which distinguished the earlier volume: the impact of the economic environment on libraries, the interrelations of financial and service planning, attention to budgeting, and realistic appraisal of the prospects for the support of libraries. Added to this foundation are the economic and…

This training manual and statewide plan begins by describing the role of the Oklahoma State Department of Education, Library Resources/Technology Section as one of providing leadership, consultation, communication, and coordination in the systematic development of technology in Oklahoma school library media centers. Information about the Oklahoma…

This document begins by presenting the text of "Technology & U.S. Government Information Policies: Catalysts for New Partnerships," which is the third report of the Task Force on Government Information in Electronic Format. Topics covered by the report include the impact of technology, private sector roles and government…

Presents a conceptual model of the information activities of the research library of the future. The future boundary conditions that will affect the library are discussed, including premises about the university, the information industry, technological developments, and governmental priorities. Steps for turning the model into reality are…

Intended to provide background for study and discussion, this publication gives updated information on development in sub-Saharan Africa and provides a basis for understanding U.S. policy toward this vital region. The strengths, problems, politics, natural resources, and language and ethnolinguistic groups of this area of the world and the…

Reviews information technology trends that relate to the collection, transfer, and dissemination of information and their implications for information policy; examines the roles of government and both public and private sectors in information policy formation; and suggests a broad course of action for citizen involvement. (CLB)

This paper, which was presented to National Aeronautics and Space Administration librarians as part of a telecommunications conference, describes features of the proposed National Research and Education Network (NREN). First, NREN's predecessor, the National Science Foundation network (the current NSFnet/Internet system), is discussed and the…