Describes results of a survey of members of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) that was conducted to determine the opinions, attitudes, and needs of SLA's members and to assess prospects for new products and services. Changes since the 1986 survey are discussed, and implications for the SLA are suggested. (LRW)

Although the literature has suggested a variety of helpful ways to deal with international students, academic librarians should become more aware of pronunciation differences, more attuned to meanings, and more tactful and sensitive to differing cultural perspectives. Formal coursework in foreign language and culture is suggested. (EA)

Discusses an apparent case of censorship via card catalog indexing in a Florentine research library. The challenge to the authenticity of a fresco by Simone Martini is explained, the ethics of collegiality are considered, and attempts to find redress through various library associations are recounted. (18 references) (LRW)

Includes five articles that discuss the public's access to information from the federal government, especially electronic information. Perspectives are provided from the viewpoints of librarians, industry, public interest research groups, publishers, journalists, and private non-profit foundations; and the Freedom of Information Center at the…

Even though endorsements of written collection development policies abound in the professional literature, many academic libraries do not have them in place. Interviews with several Louisiana librarians reveal possible reasons for that disparity. Instead of spending time devising policies that quickly become inflexible and outdated, bibliographers…

Explores tour trends in academic Association of Research Libraries (ARL), specifically examining the prevalence of several tour formats, including guided, self-guided, and virtual Web tours. Results from a survey conducted in November 2000 include statistical information about tour administration, audience, and structure, as well as perceptions of…

Provides an overview of eight articles by Charles Bunge related to the reference environment that deal with attitudes of the reference librarian, planning and objectives for the reference department, interpersonal dimensions of reference interviews, stress and burnout, and ethics. (LRW)

Recently the Peru State College Library (Nebraska) had an opportunity to use a special acquisitions grant to study the effects of removing librarian bias in one area of its collection. This study considers the use of the items selected for this grant by humanities faculty and compares their use with other items selected by both librarians and…

This study was conducted to gather and analyze information of a descriptive nature about curriculum materials centers and to determine staff members' perceptions regarding existing and desired conditions at the centers. The study included only those centers in teacher training institutions accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation…

This report presents some of the prominent features of a national invitational conference whose goal was to provide a national forum to discuss ongoing preservation efforts in individual states; describe the preservation challenge faced by all states in common; review the kinds of materials at risk; and alert administrators to the opportunities…

This document presents the first phase of a province-wide study which explored the knowledge and use of instructional development on the part of teacher-librarians in the formal school system. The instrument was a written questionnaire with three sections. Seventeen specific instructional development tasks and/or competency areas were derived from…

Examines librarian-teaching faculty enmity in university libraries with an objective of increasing mutual respect and cooperation among the two. Discusses disputes over the term "scholar" and "scholar-librarian"; division between managers and the "scholars" who work with the materials; self-perception and self-worth; and the need to value…

From an organizational approach to virtual or digital libraries (V/DL), this study places V/DL in the context of the academic library, focusing on relevant opinions of library heads. Findings suggest that the library heads typically understand V/DL as digital materials, are mainly supportive of V/DL understood in this way, and demonstrate the…

By examining organizational objectives, the choices librarians make about marketing and customer focus become clearer. Ideas from social marketing reveal that adopting a customer orientation toward marketing may not be right for some libraries. (AEF)

Discusses teacher-librarianship as a route to school administration. Highlights include qualifications, experience, job satisfaction as a teacher-librarian and as an administrator, reasons for moving into administration, administrative skills developed as a teacher-librarian, attitudes brought to both roles, aspects of teacher-librarianship that…