Five of the six papers in this collection focus on public library services, collection development problems, and involvement in literacy campaigns in developing countries; the sixth paper is concerned with public library services in Norway. (1) In "Big Cities, Its Inhabitants and Public Libraries Systems," May Brooking Negrao examines…

Traces the evolution of the science fiction genre and its representation at the Library of Congress, including original paperbacks, hardcovers, television, film, and sound recordings. Highlights include science fiction "classics", the Library of Congress collection development policy, library programs, and preservation activities…

Discusses the National Library of Australia's leadership of the Australian library system in light of the failure of key electronic aspects of the Strategic Plan. Topics include overseas collecting; electronic access; the Distributed National Collection (DNC); culturally discriminatory collecting policy; and costs of access, including user fees.…

The Foreign Studies Discussion Group of Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University perceived the necessity for an evaluation of the foreign language collections in the library that would include an examination of collection acquisition policies, size, and processing and would provide descriptive and analytical data in order to support…

For many years, there has been pressure on American schools to restrict or deny students access to books or periodicals deemed objectionable by some individual or group on moral, political, religious, ethnic, racial, or philosophical grounds. Censorship of library books in school media centers is present today. The library media specialist is…

Discusses ways that libraries can improve children's library services, including offering family activities; exposing children to books; creating a secure, comfortable environment; reinforcing and improving self-esteem; offering programs to improve reading skills; and developing imagination. Offers intellectual freedom policies for collection…

Reviews the collection development literature of 1992. Topics addressed include selection and collecting policies; cooperation; assessment and evaluation, including citation studies and user studies; organization and staffing; budget and allocations; electronic technologies of the present; and possible future developments. (Contains 178…

Identifies the main costs in on-site and off-site (remote electronic publications) public library collections and specifies the main challenges in an on-site/off-site collection strategy. Presents a costs identification table, table of direct costs, and costs and user-levels table. Considers cost trends and discusses advantages and disadvantages…

Analyzes a 1993 censorship case involving public protest against the Fairfax County (Virginia) Library System's display of a gay newspaper. The case gave rise to the Family Friendly Libraries movement. The responsible librarian should select to maintain a balanced collection, know the community, educate the library board and develop consensus on…

Discusses teenage pregnancy and sexuality and suggests ways in which librarians can help provide access to appropriate and needed information. Highlights include developing policies and procedures for dealing with sexual issues, collection development, organizing information and making it accessible, and a brief teen pregnancy bibliography. (LRW)

Assessing user needs is vital to planning and development of collection and service policies in depository libraries. Community surveys, published surveys, library internal reports, and databases are alternative sources of user information. A group process, such as the Nominal Group Technique, which creates a listening forum, may be more effective…

Provides a description and assessment of the merger of the government publications division and the maps division at the San Diego State University (California) library that was necessitated by budgetary constraints. The impact on patrons is discussed, including reference assistance, arrangement of materials, reference and circulation policies,…

Intended as a general guideline for selecting government documents at the University of Miami (Florida) Otto G. Richter Library, this collection development policy includes the following sections: (1) Introduction; (2) Mission Statement; (3) Selection Responsibility; (4) Subject Areas, Collection Intensity Levels and Collection Arrangement,…

These guidelines are predicated on the belief that culturally appropriate service to indigenous peoples is a fundamental principle of Alaska public libraries. While the impetus for developing the guidelines was service to the Alaska Native community, they can also be applied to other cultural groups. A culturally responsive library environment is…

From 1963 to 1996, Director Charlie Robinson and Deputy Director Jean-Barry Molz led the Baltimore County Public Library, a system known for customer orientation, a philosophy of collection development heavily emphasizing best sellers, centralized materials selection, interchangeable adult and children's staff, and service fees. Upon retirement,…