Interviews with 51 librarians and 40 computer-center administrators at smaller colleges found that they face similar challenges in providing services and seeking economies but are uneasy about formal structural changes that bring their operations closer together. Reasons for their concern and implications for college administration are discussed,…

Reviews the literature on academic library reference service, and examines changes in the traditional reference desk model. Based on the review from the perspectives of managers, librarians, and users, new research directions are proposed in which users' information-search processes and librarians' intervention in reference service are integrated.…

Presents the collective judgments of a group of academics from North America, Southeast Asia and the Arabian Gulf region, as well as leading practitioners from the Arabian Gulf region, about the content of graduate degrees in information studies. The participants generally agreed about the content of the curriculum of information studies. The most…

This notebook presents ideas for and readings about producing a well-organized and efficient school library program. The notebook is divided into 15 major sections, each of which begins with an overview of the topic, continues with practical discussions of different aspects of the topic, and is followed by background readings consisting of new…

Four primary tasks were conducted for this two-phase study, which examined the outcomes to challenged library materials in terms of retention, restriction, and removal, and identified key factors that influenced the outcome: (1) the relevant research literature was reexamined and a conceptual model for testing based on the research literature was…

The revolutionary library signals a new era for schools and their students. Roles are continually being redefined and services and programs are continually restructured. This paper outlines some strategies for implementing change, and challenges and inspires the teacher-librarian profession to reinvent itself. At the present time in school…

The librarians and directors contributing to this article review current trends in censorship, and describe strategies, policies, and practices they would recommend. Discussion includes selection policies, educating the public, new technologies and materials, and the Internet. All agree on the library's responsibility of preserving intellectual…

Reviews recent media treatment of the issue of selection and censorship of print and nonprint materials for school-age children in Australia, and discusses the findings of a survey which investigated actual practices in schools and attitudes of teacher-librarians. (37 references) (LRW)

Describes a study at the California State University at Chico library that was conducted to determine the success of the ERIC database on CD-ROM as a retrieval tool. The results of user interviews are summarized, surveys of reference librarians are reviewed, and cost considerations are examined. (three references) (LRW)

Describes an ACRL (American College and Research Libraries) project that utilized the electronic conferencing facility of BITNET to provide a system of mentoring for academic librarians conducting research. Results of an electronic mail survey of participants that examined experience levels, attitudes, problems, and communication patterns are…

This survey of 288 academic, public, and special librarians in Canada examined attitudes toward the role of bibliographic instruction in reference service. Results indicated that academic librarians stress instruction, special librarians stress information delivery, and public librarians fall between the two positions. It was found that…

Discusses the role of libraries and library staff in helping society grapple with the ramifications of multiculturalism. Definitions of multiculturalism, steps in creating a diverse library staff, training needs, and dealing with charges of political correctness are addressed. A graphic model of stages in the process of developing a multicultural…

Establishes a framework for personal decision making for librarians confronted with conflict of interest situations that arise as a result of working part-time as a freelance information entrepreneur and part-time as a library employee. Codes of ethics of professional organizations are examined, and the organizational environment is considered.…

Discusses the influence of electronic publishing on communication of scientific research. Topics include subscription costs; lagtime between submission and publication; peer review; attitudes of librarians and publishers; value-added features of electronic journals; copyright and licensing issues; and author collaboration. (Author/LRW)

Reports survey results of user education objectives and practices in New Zealand academic libraries, and makes comparisons to a Canadian study. The New Zealand research explored librarians' attitudes about the relationship between user education and information literacy. Five tables include resources, methods, mean-importance rank, preferred…