Short Pump's media center sits in the middle of the school because this library is the house that Lynn Henry Thorpe built, while principal during its 1990 planning year and 1991 opening. Thorpe believes passionately that libraries are central to successful learning. This article describes Thorpe's fervor for libraries and its history of innovation.

Online library services have been mostly available uniquely in English. To serve the diverse communities that uses library services, a growing number of libraries have been investigating the ins and outs of offering virtual reference in languages other than English. Developing this kind of service in languages spoken by various library user groups…

Examines the Amazon.com online bookstore as a blueprint for designing the world's largest library. Topics include selection; accessibility and convenience; quality of Web sites and search tools; personalized service; library collection development, including interlibrary loan; library catalogs and catalog records; a circulation system; costs;…

In 1965, as the University of Akron (Ohio) was approaching its centennial, it was decided to create two archival programs. One was the University Archives, which preserves records and other items dealing with the history and development of the institution. A different approach, but one that was closely intertwined with the University Archives, was…

Educators need to teach the lessons of the Holocaust in order to demonstrate the consequences of racism carried to its most frightful extreme. This paper highlights autobiographies, diaries, journals, and first person narratives in children's and young adult libraries that can be included in library programs. Textbooks used in American schools are…

This video provides guidelines for establishing a successful volunteer program in any library. Topics include: the benefits of volunteers to libraries; getting a volunteer program started and functioning; recruiting volunteers; interviewing volunteers; effectively training volunteers; acknowledgment of volunteers; and handling uncooperative or…

This report presents the results of a June 1997 onsite evaluation of a U.S. Department of Education HEA II-B grant awarded to the Portland Area Library System (PORTALS) during the period October 1, 1995 to September 30, 1997. The grant offered an opportunity to increase collaboration among PORTALS members via the activities of network deployment,…

Working in a cooperative team environment across libraries and job classifications, librarians and support staff at the University of California at Irvine (UCI) have mounted several successful web projects, including two versions of the Libraries' home page, a virtual reference collection, and Science Library "ANTswer Machine." UCI's…

Noting the State Library and Adult Education Office's (SLAEO) goals of providing leadership in the adult education and library communities and developing, promoting, and delivering lifelong learning opportunities and library services for the people of Colorado, this annual report highlights the agency's activities in four areas: (1) programs…

A simplified account of an extensive library automation and networking project that the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation initiated and funded in the Czech and Slovak republics is provided in this paper. The proposal to establish "The Czech and Slovak Library Information Network" (CASLIN) commenced in January 1993. Storage, document…

The purpose of this book is to help professional librarians gain administrator support for the library media center. The book is divided into three sections. Part 1, "Setting the Stage," explores the challenge and aspects of accountability that can be lost in the pressures of daily accomplishment. It details the personality characteristics found…

This annual report of the Digital Library Federation describes projects initiated in response to the following program priorities: (1) focus attention on libraries of materials that are born digital, including a social science data workshop and guides to quality in visual resource imaging; (2) integrate digital materials into the fabric of…

The Making of America (MoA) Testbed Project, coordinated by the Digital Library Federation, is a multi-phase endeavor. Its purpose is to investigate important issues in the creation of an integrated but distributed digital library of archival materials (i.e., digitized surrogates of primary source materials found in archives and special…

This paper discusses changes in services, technology, and organization as libraries prepare to enter the "network-centric library world." Part 1 addresses the transition from the analog era to the digital age, and the convergence of libraries and education, including opportunities for library leadership in Internet access, digital…

This paper discusses the impact national initiatives have had on individual higher education libraries in the United Kingdom (UK). Written from the perspective of an institutional library manager, the paper examines the interface between local electronic library provision and national developments. Individual institutions have been active in…