Traces the events which led to the dismissal of a disclosure lawsuit brought by the Moral Majority against the Washington State Library and discusses the factors which made possible this successful defense of the privacy of library users. The library's policy statement on privacy of circulation records is included. (RAA)

Describes the development of a policy at the University of Colorado to catalog, package, house, and circulate books with accompanying electronic media. Highlights include a literature review, motivation, a processing flowchart, retrospective conversion of older materials, and an example of a MARC record. (Author/LRW)

A discussion with the staff of the Internet Public Library (IPL), which began as a project at the University of Michigan, highlights its role in supplementing local public library services; classification; collection development policies; and the impact of legislation, copyright, and universal service on IPL. A sidebar presents IPL user…

Discusses when librarians should develop their own Internet collections and how to add value to them, based on examples from the Argus Clearinghouse Web site. Topics include evaluation criteria for Internet resources; strategic planning; Internet collection development policies; and adding value through organization, navigation, learning systems,…

In 1990, George Mason University (Virginia) proposed building a combined library/student center. Examines the processes, policies, and procedures used to develop a new library collection combining multiculturalism, diversity, and core texts. Discusses the collection development plan, strategies, and policy; faculty involvement; key series and sets…

Describes the library of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. Highlights include the library director and personnel, promotion of the library's mission, budget, formats and subjects in the collection, cataloging, access policy, patrons, and future plans. A sidebar discusses "One Survivor Remembers" (the 1995 Oscar-winning…

The conclusions reached at the conference "Rare Book and Manuscript Libraries in the Twenty-first Century," (Houghton Library, Harvard University, 1992), summarized in this essay, provide a context for the "Flair" Symposium. Some issues have changed; others have not. Newer technologies have produced aids and challenges for…

The public library has become the locus for public anxiety about children's access to objectionable material on the Internet. Discusses Judith Krug's (Director of the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom) defense of unrestricted access, acceptable use, and filtering software. Highlights six filtering programs (client and…

Examines four significant unanswered questions related to children's and young adult services in public libraries. After reviewing the existing knowledge base that can serve as scaffolding for the needed research, the author suggests strategies for refining and implementing this research agenda. (Contains 62 references.) (Author/AEF)

Discusses the role of intelligent agents in facilitating the seeking and retrieval of information in Web-based library environments. Highlights include an overview of agents; current applications in library domains; an agent-based model for libraries; the design of interface agents; and implications for library policy and digital collections.…

This study measured the following performance factors at the Cleveland Health Science Library: user bibliographic information; collection development policy; acquisition policy; user catalog; circulation; library operation/functioning; and user search. Book availability rates were similar to rates for other academic libraries, and book…

Reviews the literature in library and information science to identify factors that influence the outcome of challenges to school library materials. A conceptual model is developed that encompasses district selection policy, librarian characteristics, school environment, community environment, and initiator of the challenge, and tentative…

Describes a survey of public librarians that examined their understanding and use of bibliographic instruction and their beliefs about the role of instruction in reference services. No consensus was found, but respondents' views seemed to be mediated by training in bibliographic instruction, library size, and the library's policy on user…

Discusses the need for a value-based reference policy and suggests one based on John Rawls' system in "A Theory of Justice" that provides equitable service to all members of an academic community while permitting the librarian to uphold the ideal of freedom of access to information. (11 references) (LRW)

Discussion of private fund raising by public libraries focuses on a survey of public library directors that was conducted to obtain information about successful fund-raising strategies. Highlights include uses of money raised; identifying funding sources and prospects; examples of successful activities; and gift policies. (Contains four…