Academic computing directors must focus on what actions and policies make a well-coordinated academic computing help desk function effectively. Keeping in mind the needs of both the client and the support team, the key components of a well-managed help desk include: accessing help easily; sorting support team jobs effectively; distributing support…

Five papers focusing on censorship include: "Censorship: Planning a Safe Ride on the Superhighway" (Daniel Ingvarson); "Censorship and the Need to Develop Policy" (Phil Davidson); "Are You Feeling the Internet Backlash?, or Family Friendly Digital Libraries and Banned URLs Week" (Steve Cisler); "Developing a School Internet Management Plan" (Jack…

The purpose of this study was to determine the current status of and need for acceptable use policies (AUPs) for students' use of the Internet in Alabama school systems. Alabama superintendents were questioned using an electronic survey that could be returned via e-mail on an anonymous Internet site. Primary questions were: (1) What is your level…

The Capital Area School Development Association's (CASDA) School Law Conference assists school board members and administrators in the Greater Capital Region of Albany, New York, in improving their knowledge in the area of school law. In Chapter 1, "Recent Decisions of the Commissioner of Education," examines the substance and outcome of…

The existing Copyright Act of 1976 makes it virtually impossible for distance educators to transmit audio-visual or non-dramatic, literary works to students through any medium which may be received by the general public. It is a law that perhaps unintentionally discriminates against distance learning students. Certain revisions of the law are…

Print sources of government information often are discontinued and replaced with either a CD ROM or Internet version, leaving the information seeker access to the documents only if they have technological ability. A more cohesive government information policy could remedy these and related problems. Libraries and the public may not be ready…

Franklin Pierce College (New Hampshire) has established an information technology (IT) major which combines courses from the computer science, graphic communications, and mass communication disciplines to conform more closely to the reality of technology in the late 1990s. Information technology brings together tools from these disciplines for the…

This paper reviews 10 years of debate in Europe on commercial rights of access to government information, starting with the United Kingdom's innovative Government Tradable Information Guidelines of 1996 and ending with the European Commission's Draft Green Paper on Rights of Access in 1996. United States market development and commercial rights of…

The electronic environment is currently forcing educators at all levels to revisit issues concerning intellectual property. Quick availability of information and data through the Internet has changed the way the general public views information since it seems to be in endless supply from any computer on any individual desktop. This paper presents…

This paper discusses the development of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and the increasing trend among federal agencies to reduce printed output and distribute information in electronic form--on floppy disks, CD ROMs, and, since the development of the National Information Infrastructure (NII), the Internet. Many libraries do not have…

Describes a project that assessed the impact of connecting rural public libraries to the Internet and the effect on librarians, local communities, and the larger Internet community. The evaluation approach, factors critical to project success, conclusions about public libraries and the Internet, and comments on the future of networked public…

Discusses policy principles that information provider companies agree upon, including the public's right of access to information; equality of access; diverse information sources; monopoly control of public information; fees for access; and public participation in decisions about access. Funding for the depository library system and new federal…

Traditional information services provision relies on the planned and logical building of a collection to meet current and future user information needs. This is achieved through the acquisition and discarding of material, which might ideally be based on a regularly reviewed collection development policy statement. The evolution of collection…

This paper reports case study findings that reveal diverse patterns of library and information services in five selected rural communities in Thailand. The case study involved site visits to examine documents, archival records, and library collections, to conduct individual focus groups and interviews, and to schedule observations. The patterns of…

The University of Wisconsin-Madison began to offer computer conferencing as a service to the campus for the fall 1995 semester. The university's End User Computing Group developed a set of policies to address such questions as: who is eligible to use the service; the Division of Information Technology's responsibilities; customer responsibilities;…