In spring 2024, the Multicounty Multitype Library Systems, supported by State Library Services, conducted a census of K-12 public and charter schools in Minnesota to learn about the status of school libraries. A total of 1,528 out of 1,777 eligible schools completed the census. The findings can help legislators, school staff, librarians, and…

J. Linda Williams was coordinator of school library services for Anne Arundel County Public Schools prior to her retirement. She served as AASL President 2005-2006 and is also a past president of the Maryland Association of School Librarians. Looking back on her 2005-2006 term as AASL President, Williams writes that she feels that particular year…

This timely special report from ALA Editions provides a succinct but comprehensive overview of the "privatization" of public libraries. It provides a history of the trend of local and state governments privatizing public services and assets, and then examines the history of public library privatization right up to the California…

Any successful library media center or program requires advanced planning. In this column, the author advocates the development of measurable goals for library media programs and describes several resources that can be used to help meet these goals and, at the same time, succeed in providing what the patrons most want out of the library media…

This manual is intended to serve as a guide for public library directors and boards of trustees in meeting the requirements of Wisconsin's public librarian certification law which requires certification for administrators of public library systems, county libraries, county library services, and municipal public libraries. The manual contains the…

This user's guide to the "Documents on Documents Collection," describes some 387 documents gathered in the 1973-1979 time frame. The collection gathers together documents produced by the various state document distribution centers (usually the state library), for use by administrators of depository programs, state employees, documents…

Last year, Louisville, KY, grew overnight from the country's 64th largest city to the 16th largest, the result of the merger of the city with Jefferson County. Pittsburgh and Buffalo, NY, are among other communities discussing city-county mergers. Many smaller communities are considering merging services, such as police and fire, or consolidating…

Published in response to requests for a permanent record of California's CALTAC (California Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners) WILL (Workshops in Library Leadership) program, an ongoing program funded by an LSCA (Library Services and Construction Act) grant from the California State Library, this report is a compilation of the…

The "Documents on Documents Collection" consists of documents produced by a variety of organizations in the course of administering state document depository programs. This collection, which contains 387 documents gathered between 1973 and 1979, originated as a resource for administrators of such depository programs and for those…

The materials in this manual are intended to provide the introductory information needed by new system advisory council members and staff of the Texas State Library on the history, role, governance, funding, services, and administration of library systems. Included in the handbook are discussions of: (1) the role of systems in public library…

This document provides guidelines on policymaking for public librarians and public library trustees in Vermont. Topics covered include: (1) the importance of policies in bringing order, logic, stability, and continuity to a library's operation; (2) the roles of trustees and librarians in adopting carrying out policies; (3) reasons why policies…

The third in a four-lesson continuing education course, this article discusses the legal responsibilities of libraries involving the hiring, training, evaluation, and dismissal of employees. The effects of collective bargaining are discussed, and strategies for effective employer employee relationships are suggested. (9 references) (CLB)

The mission of today's school library media center is to help prepare students to enter the information age of the 21st century. To carry out this mission, library media specialists, administrators, and teachers must ensure that students can effectively locate, access, interpret, evaluate, and communicate information. The school library media…

The Internet is an international computer network encompassing thousands of smaller interconnected networks. This digest describes various uses of the Internet and its impact on libraries, as well as Internet-related library issues. The Internet applications of electronic mail (E-mail), telnet, and file transfer protocol (FTP) are briefly…