In this article, the author presents an interview with Brewster Kahle, leader of the Open Content Alliance (OCA). OCA book scan program is an alternative to Google's library project that aims to make books accessible online. In this interview, Kahle discusses his views on the challenges of getting books on the Web, on Google's library…

Proposes, in the spirit of good library keeping, a regional cooperative approach to the preservation of library materials which would embody conservation services of a lower order than a conservation laboratory: e.g., stack cleaning, facilities inspection and repair, and book dusting. (JD)

Our task in the next decade is to keep the bibliographic utilities and regional networks or service centers lean and flexible and responsive to the needs and desires of the libraries that created and support them. It will not be easy, but healthy competition may help. (Author)

Recommends that library administrators turn to public administration models in preference to business administration models for network management; this choice is predicated on the not-for-profit aspects of public service organizations. (RAA)

Suggests that the divisions and animosities of the library community could be resolved through proper emphasis on access to information and resource sharing. Urban versus rural library, school versus public library, trustee versus librarian, and issues of professionalism are examined. (RAA)

Provides background on automation of library catalogs. Arguments are presented in favor of standards for online catalogs, and the possibility that inconsistent record access may result in confusion for library patrons is discussed. (MES)

Reviews major library issues and events of 1988, including: (1) the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Library Awareness Program; (2) cooperation with USSR libraries; (3) library finance; (4) preservation; and (5) special programing. News about a number of prominent library professionals is included in a sidebar. (MES)

Discusses the pros and cons of library cooperation as exemplified by interlibrary loan and OCLC. Moving away from cooperation toward the more intensive use of local systems is suggested as one alternative for the future. (MES)

Presentation of a scenario in which a city council imposes fees for public library services without consulting the library director or trustees is followed by three analyses of the situation, and ways in which it should be handled by the library director are suggested. (CLB)

Discussion of the management of not-for-profit corporations which provide computerized library networks highlights marketing, nonprofit constraints, multiple goals, consumer demands, professional commitment, external influences, motivation and control, dependence on charisma, management and altruism, hybrid organizations, and rational management.…

Stresses the importance of individual library autonomy in the growth of networks and resource sharing. Because network environment is expanding to meet the demands of interlibrary loans, fees are viewed as necessary. Also emphasized are the dangers of giving government a controlling role in building a resource network. (SW)

Suggests steps to be taken regarding six issues affecting the future of information with particular focus on research libraries: end campus compartmentalization (integration of research libraries and computing centers), overcome research library division, accept institutional interdependence, sort out public/private sector roles, build networks of…

Discusses present and future changes in library organization and management resulting from increasingly smaller library units, use of electronics to support decentralized services, new management style, and interlibrary cooperatives. Three strategies for change--to accept change, to change change, to recognize that some things cannot be…

Given its power to mold society, information is a resource of unlimited value. A case in point is the value of information in World War II. National survival may depend on breaking the barrier between nationwide library cooperation and institutional competitiveness. (SW)

Reviews the difficulties associated with acquiring Spanish materials (books, periodicals, and other publications) from Latin America and describes a number of ways in which the acquisition of such items may be facilitated. The growing Latin American publishing industry, gifts and exchanges, and acquisition tactics and sources are discussed. (JL)