In this article, the author reports on the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Conference which occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 29-April 2, 2011. There were numerous panel sessions to choose from, and the author attended "Fostering Library as Place for Distance Students: Best Practices from Two…

Two science branch libraries at Penn State's University Park campus hosted film series centered on scientific documentary films. Although the reasons for starting the series differ, both have been successful in meeting their goals. Patron responses have been favorable, and the series have focused attention on the collections and services offered…

This paper describes chat widgets, chunks of code that can be embedded on a web site to appear as an instant messaging system, and how they can be used on a science library web site to better serve library users. Interviews were conducted concerning experiences at science and humanities libraries and more similarities than differences were…

"ARL" is the bimonthly report on research library issues and actions from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). "ARL" reports on current issues of interest to academic and research library administrators, staff, and…

Supporting the "Infrastructure Needs of 21st Century School Library Programs," also known as the Pennsylvania School Library Project, was a one-year project conducted in Pennsylvania to better identify and understand what stakeholders--teachers, administrators, parents, school and community leaders, and education associations--expect…

Labor archival programs confront numerous challenges to remain viable in a changing academic environment and institutional culture. The marketing of higher education, the anti-union stance of some university administrations, and the transition of labor studies programs create a less-than-benign environment for labor collection development…

This report of the 95-member Council for the Comprehensive Plan for Libraries, which included representatives from government, libraries, and the public sector, is not intended to answer all the questions for all those concerned about the future of libraries, but rather to bring focus to the issues and to set a direction for solving the problems…

The major purpose of this brief descriptive study was to determine the levels of professional and support staffing within the administrative, technical, public, and media services areas of Pennsylvania's private college libraries. The study also includes comparative data on student assistant staffing. Questionnaires were mailed to library…

This report presents the results of a major 5-year review by the State Library of Pennsylvania Advisory Council on Library Development of the 1984 Comprehensive Plan for Library Service in Pennsylvania, together with related resolutions adopted by delegates to the 1990 Governor's Conference on Library and Information Services. The council review…

Information Interdependence is an empty concept unless the real user is a dominant element. The individual user of information must be sensitized to the existence of information interdependencies and to the critical need to foster much more of it, if libraries are to survive economically and provide exemplary information service. Three approaches…

Describes a study of secondary school library media specialists in Maine and Pennsylvania that was conducted to establish a baseline of data relating to the use of CD-ROM databases for reference purposes. Topics addressed include database titles; networking; staffing concerns; budget; funding; attitudes toward CD-ROMs; and training and curriculum…