Develops a comprehensive, unified, explanatory theory of librarianship by first making an analogy to the unification of the fundamental forces of nature. Topics include dependent and independent variables; publishing; acquisitions; classification and organization of knowledge; storage, preservation, and collection management; collections; and…

First sale and fair use are two copyright principles of use in academic libraries that need to be reexamined in an information age offering possibilities of universal access and perfect distribution in the electronic document. Library services that are perhaps most affected by these concerns are in provision of electronic reserves and collections.…

Argues that library skills and methods used for organization of information are needed to organize Internet information resources. Four aspects of information organization are discussed: recording existence and identity of information bearing entities; acquiring these entities; providing name, title, subject, and other access information; and…

Librarians cannot distribute their collections electronically until the problems of intellectual property and free-and-equal access are resolved. Libraries must overcome restrictions of "virtual libraries" thereby making copyrighted texts freely available. Libraries must be promoted as places where readers freely consult both copyrighted…

Discusses the decline in reference statistics in academic libraries and considers the role of access to information via the Internet. Highlights include patron expectations and demands; commercial Web reference services; and virtual reference desk software so libraries can offer 24 hour service, including public libraries. (LRW)

The concept of relevance remains central to library and information studies work. Five Women's Studies faculty members were interviewed concerning their immediate reactions to different resources provided in direct response to real, on-going information needs. Criteria identified by this approach went beyond topicality, currency, and other basic…

Discussion of electronic access to information focuses on a study conducted at the library of the College of William and Mary that used 40 reference desk questions to assess the value of printed sources, CD-ROMs, databases, and the World Wide Web. Also discusses the reference librarian as omnipaedia. (LRW)

Distance education strategies offer the potential to overcome barriers of time and distance. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries have been providing an array of services to distant learners enrolled in UNL graduate degree programs. This paper reviews the services that the UNL Libraries have developed, describes current objectives, and…

The provision of good library services is a crucial factor in determining the quality of distance education. This collection of articles acquaints readers with distance librarianship as it is practiced in developed and developing countries throughout the British Commonwealth. The reader includes: "Introduction" (Michael Wooliscroft);…

This manual describes the library instruction program taken as a part of English 200/201 at Utah State University. This manual is meant to be read after completing Project FORE, a computer-assisted instruction program at Merrill Library (Utah State University). Project FORE and this manual review the skills needed to retrieve information on…

Analysis of the needs of users of Compact Disk-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) was performed at the Tampa campus of the University of South Florida. A review of the literature indicated that problems associated with selecting the appropriate database, searching, and requiring technical assistance were the probable areas of user need. The library has 17…

This book is designed to assist the beginning searcher of those online systems that primarily provide information in the form of bibliographic citations. These systems also contain files in other formats that are designed to provide answers to reference-type questions. It is intended not only to provide basic "how-to" information on the…

This set of collection development guidelines is the response of an academic library to the question of when and where it is most advantageous to provide access to information through resource sharing in lieu of ownership. A Collection Development Committee, appointed by the dean of the university and guided by a self-study format provided by the…

Discussion of various alternatives for privatization of the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) being studied by the Department of Commerce highlights issues identified in the April 1986 notice in the Federal Register, representative users' comments, the range of NTIS services and products, and the implications of privatization for…

Throughout 1999 and 2000, 234 academic institutions in Canada--66 university libraries and 168 college libraries--were asked to respond to a survey of library services for off campus users. Previous surveys were conducted in 1984 and then again in 1988. It was felt that with the advent of the World Wide Web, increased levels of library automation,…