Each year, the author's school district, North Syracuse (New York) Central School District, requires teachers to identify and work on specific professional development goals. She relates how she identified assessment as the area she wanted to work on during the 2005-2006 school year. For several years she had been wondering if the students were…

In developing a Library Orientation Tour, it is important to be perceptive about the needs of a college population. At Queensborough Community College the student population is a mix of traditional and non-traditional students from diversified backgrounds. The initial contact with the Library, and its resources, may be overwhelming for students…

This study examines the influence of culture on digital libraries of the first wave. The local cultures of innovation of five European national libraries (Biblioteca nacional de Portugal, Bibliotheque nationale de France, Die Deutsche Bibliothek, the National Library of Scotland, and the British Library) are reconstructed in case histories from…

Academic and research libraries have been increasing their efforts for a number of years to demonstrate their contributions to student learning outcomes in support of the institutional educational mission. Whether through one-shot instruction or credited classes, libraries invest a great deal of time and effort in instructional programs. A key…

The digital humanities (DH) are attracting considerable attention and funding at the same time that this nascent field is striving for an identity. Some research libraries are making significant investments by creating digital humanities centers. However, questions about whether such investments are warranted persist across the cultural heritage…

In accordance with the recent philosophy of quality in higher education embraced by European institutions, a checklist for the qualitative evaluation of service charters in academic libraries is proposed. The checklist is based on the existing literature on the topic, not only the large number of research papers on quality issues in general, but…

This article aims to help teachers looking for an exciting major unit designed to help their students meet educational standards in these areas: (1) library research skills, (2) preparing and writing a standard, (3) research paper, in this case on a significant figure in world history, (4) writing a creative story, including adaptation of…

A point of departure for the collection and use of statistical information about a library's internal operation is presented. Several techniques for manipulating numerical data are suggested to achieve a better understanding of actual operations within the administrative unit being studied. (Author)

A discussion of the methodological problems of studying the duplication of holdings of research libraries. (LS)

Library and information science research in library schools, apart from personal research of faculty, has been characterized as non-cumulative, fragmentary, weak, and oriented to immediate practical needs. The record is examined and this criticism found justified in part. (Author)

This overview draws together six articles on library services to the aging. Economic and demographic characteristics of these potential patrons are presented, along with social gerontology'' and related concepts through which their needs may be understood. Some of the literature on the subject is reviewed and gaps identified. (18 references) (KE)

The creative researchers may find that one of the more intriguing aspects in his involvement with research tools is to examine them in a way, or for a purpose, for which they were not originally intended. (MF)

Argues that librarians should make use of computer technology and available research to reexamine the premises of descriptive cataloging processes. Four references are appended. (LLS)