The year 2009 will be remembered as one of angst, with the economy dominating news around the world. Few libraries were immune to the extraordinary financial pressures. The library marketplace by year's end was in a weakened position, with prospects of a long recovery at best. Concern persists that even deeper budget cuts will come when federal…

The publishers' hall at the recent Association of College and Research Libraries conference, held in Seattle in mid-March, was a study in give-and-take: how much publishers such as Elsevier and Oxford University Press will give in this lousy economy, and how much budget-strapped librarians can take. Libraries are some of the biggest customers for…

Selective listing of material available in microform in the field of Afro-American studies is organized into two categories: papers, records and collections; and special areas of interest. Information is also provided about preservation microfilming at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of the New York Public Library. (two…

Discusses the increased costs of library materials, the need for a new budgeting approach, and the impact of technology. The development of a library materials index that was developed at Ohio State University to provide a consistent source for measuring library materials expenditures against the marketplace is described. (Contains 14 references.)…

A two-part text, "Science Resources: A Self-Paced Instructional Workbook," was designed to provide science students at Mississippi State University with: (1) instruction on basic library usage and reference tools common to most scientific disciplines; (2) materials adapted to specific disciplines; and (3) services available to them from the…

Career Key is a microcomputer library management system designed to access the cataloging records of the Career Development Library at Florida State University. The Career Key system, which provides access to a comprehensive and integrated multi-media collection of about 1,500 career resources, is based on a classification system involving 35…

This theme issue contains nine articles that address the AIDS epidemic and examine information resources available to libraries. Highlights include a personal narrative by a person with AIDS; an updated bibliography of materials published since 1987; periodical indexes; information in Sweden and the Netherlands; ethical and legal issues;…

Analyzes the impact of the rising cost of materials on academic libraries as reflected in members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Highlights include total library expenditures; materials expenditures; comparisons with price indexes; and the impact of journal…

Rutgers University Libraries are using a Microsoft Access database to track the purchase of books requested by teaching faculty for use in the Reserve Collection. Reports are generated which show what is purchased, how money was spent. Combined with circulation figures and LC Subject areas, the database provides documentation of library support of…

Librarians use subject guides to introduce students to library materials. Surveys, usability tests, and usage statistics demonstrate that students do not relate well to subject guides. We suggest that library resources organized or delivered at a course level are more in line with how undergraduate students approach library research. (Contains 26…

Presents eight articles that discuss research on libraries and librarianship; number of libraries in the U.S. and Canada; highlights of NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) surveys; library acquisition expenditures; budgets; price indexes; library buildings construction; and expenditures for school library media center resources. (LRW)

Describes two indexes, the Electronic and Print Usage Indexes, created at the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, that can be used easily by librarians to clearly demonstrate usage trends in their libraries. The indexes show that in 1998-1999, patron usage of electronic resources more than doubled, whereas print use declined. (AEF)