East St. Louis is a good example of a community that was not providing library service to all of its citizens. The public library was most anxious to close this service gap. To do so, however, required a two phased approach. What was first needed was a basic survey of the East St. Louis Public Library, its collection, staff and services. Based on…

A study to determine which reference works are most widely held, the age breakdown of reference holdings, and the relationship between size of school and size of reference holdings in a sample of schools with centralized media programs in Illinois. (Author/LS)

Describes the background, objectives, and successes of the Multi-Media Access Project (MAP) begun in July 1979 to eliminate barriers to resource sharing of audiovisual materials in 18 multitype Illinois library systems. The types of equipment handled through MAP and the development of a union list for MAP interlibrary holdings are discussed. (JL)

The December 1975, issue of "Illinois Libraries" provides a progress and status report on Illinois' network of 18 public library systems, 17 of which are cooperative library systems consisting of from 17 to 70 public libraries. Each system's annual report is included. Statistics for the entire state are given in five tables covering…

Describes the Teen Center at the Schaumburg Township District Library (Illinois) that was built with a sports theme. Highlights include the physical environment; the library collection, mainly recreational, that includes music CDs; the young adult population and community; hours of operation; staffing; youth participation and programs; and the…

Each year, from 1982 to 1986, the Library Research Center at the University of Illinois conducted a study called the Index of Quality of Public Library Service. For this study, unobtrusive tests of reference service and book availability were performed annually in Illinois Public Libraries. When the results from rural libraries were compared with…

One of a series of annual studies undertaken by the Library Research Center for and on behalf of the Illinois State Library, this report provides a detailed, question-by-question examination of the 143 responses (84% of the 170 Illinois academic libraries polled) to the 1981/82 Higher Education General Information Survey/Library General…

The Illinois project entitled Measurement and Evaluation of Public Library Services is being conducted by the Library Research Center (LRC) at the University of Illinois. The long range goal of the project is to make available meaningful information for the evaluation and improvement of local public libraries. Two immediate objectives are to test…

The papers presented at a workshop on local documents sponsored by the Illinois State Library and the Illinois Library Association are published in this issue of "Illinois Libraries". The local documents under consideration are the publications of local governmental agencies and their subunits and any other items appropriate to a local…

Presents a survey of 56 federal depository libraries in Illinois which covered the following: the depository name, the librarian's name, percentage of federal depository documents selected, collection strengths, length of retention, access to documents, Internet access, staff time devoted to collections and services, professional activities, and…

This study examined the use of children's textbooks in the public library. The study looks at procedures used to obtain textbooks, uses of textbooks, how textbooks are processed and accessed, and the impact of the textbook collection on library service to students. A questionnaire was mailed to libraries providing textbooks to children in a…

In order to find reliable methods of ascertaining quality in library service, three public libraries in the Chicago area were assessed using the Rutgers "Performance Measures for Public Libraries." The Rutgers study can reveal the needs and characteristics of library patrons, and may itself be instrumental in increasing patronage. It…

These articles provide testimony in support of youth services which have been and continue to be a vital part of public library service in Illinois. Organized around the symbol of a mighty oak tree, the articles are divided into three sections: (1) The Trunk--based on strong roots with the past, standards, goals, and objectives are formulated; (2)…

A survey of community college libraries gathered statistics on enrollment, faculty, range in the philosophies of library services, staff, budget, library resources, physical facilities, automation, audiovisual equipment, dial access information retrieval systems, television production, library orientation programs, and programs for the training of…

To study the strengths and weaknesses of Illinois school library collections in science and to quantify the need for increased funding for collection development, a survey was completed by over 400 members of the Illinois School Library Media Association. Topics of interest were astronomy, space, the solar system, general biology, ecology, human…