Intended to provide background information for a special advisory commission created by the state legislature to study the desirability of a state library networking system, this series of 12 papers prepared by the staff librarians of the Virginia State Library summarizes the workings of various network programs, techniques for implementing them,…

Discusses authority work and authority control for personal names and corporate bodies in transitional archive catalogs. The importance of conformance with standards so that archival materials will collocate with other types of material in integrated catalogs is also discussed, together with enhanced authority work and techniques for archival…

Describes the significant characteristics of archival materials and archival methods of description and arrangement. Key sections of the code, "Archives, Personal Papers and Manuscripts" (APPM), are explicated; compatibility with bibliographically oriented cataloging is discussed; and the relationship of catalog records to other archival finding…

Describes the current status of libraries in secondary schools in Greece. The Greek educational system is explained; school library legislation is discussed as it relates to users, professional and nonprofessional staff, funding, and book selection; and recommendations for the improvement of school libraries are suggested. (12 references) (LRW)

Discusses how archivists use the MARC AMC (Archival and Manuscripts Control) format for descriptive information about archival materials. Modifications that MARC AMC introduced to the standard MARC bibliographic formats are explained, and examples of a record in AMC formats on different bibliographic utilities are given. (24 references) (LRW)

Summarizes historical development of product liability laws which allow an injured party to seek to recover damages for personal injury or loss of property allegedly resulting from defective product and reviews activities of Triodyne Inc. in gathering evidence to be used in product liability lawsuits. Sixteen references are cited. (EJS)

This report reviews the seven times that the courts have considered the question of whether school boards can remove books from school libraries. Because the first and the three most recent cases upheld the rights of boards, while the other three cases were won by plaintiffs who had filed their cases against the boards, the differences in the…

Acting on a general perception that attempts to remove, restrict, or alter materials found in public and public school libraries have increased during the past decade, the Senate Committee on Appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies directed the National Commission on Libraries and…

This review of the evolution of the Dewey Decimal Classification over past 30 years concentrates on three conflicts that have influenced recent developments: integrity of numbers versus keeping pace with knowledge; detailed bibliographic classification versus shelf location device; and national bias versus internationalization. Seven references…

Censorship has become a significant problem for public school libraries and has been addressed in several court cases, including Pico v. Island Trees Board of Education, the first such case to be heard by the Supreme Court. In this case, to be decided in the summer of 1982, the school board voted to remove a group of books from school libraries,…

Outlines the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 in regard to libraries. Discusses the responsibilities libraries have in hiring disabled persons and providing services, accommodations, and telecommunications, and describes ADA compliance activities in Florida. (96 references/notes) (EA)

This discussion of the impact of copyright laws and regulations on universal availability of publications examines the historical and conceptual foundations of copyright as it has developed in Europe, with special emphasis on the current copyright laws of the Nordic countries. A detailed analysis of the provisions of these laws is used to…

Designed to provide insight into both the philosophical and emotional dimensions of community conflicts over students' exposure to ideas, this report summarizes 4 current court cases and 16 previous decisions in cases involving the banning of books, magazines, and films from public schools. Some details of two recent cases are provided to…

Reviews proposed legislation of the 101st Congress and discusses other factors that contribute to the national information policy. Highlights include federal information sources in electronic format; the Paperwork Reduction Act; legislation for the development of a National Research and Education Network (NREN); and the role of the Government…

Discusses the effects of copyright law and the ownership of intellectual ideas on scholarly publishing. The effectiveness of copyright law for scholarly and academic publishing is considered, university-based networks for scholarly publishing are described, and problems with and possibilities for electronic journals are examined. (31 references)…