Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to revisit previous design principles and guidelines for online makerspaces in public libraries (Kim et al., 2020) and expand the design principles with more updated implications and examples from the literature published during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The authors reviewed…

This new report details findings from a study OCLC conducted with libraries in mid-2011 to learn about their priorities, initiatives, thoughts on the future of their service points and the sources they use to keep up with developments in the library field. Most public library staff: (1) Anticipate that the top reason patrons are using their…

This new report details findings from a study OCLC conducted with libraries in mid-2011 to learn about their priorities, initiatives, thoughts on the future of their service points and the sources they use to keep up with developments in the library field. Most community college library staff: (1) Consider licensed e-collections and e-books to be…

We asked the same 60 questions using DRS (digital reference services) in Japanese public libraries, face-to-face reference services and Q & A (question and answer) sites. It was found that: (1) The correct answer ratio of DRS is higher than that of Q & A sites; (2) DRS takes longer to provide answers as compared to Q & A sites; and (3)…

The last 5 years have heralded a number of important changes to virtual libraries in academic and public settings. Despite this continual effort to improve library catalogs and websites, the fundamentals of these online spaces remain relatively unchanged. Digital collections are within reach of many libraries, yet they remain difficult to…

In the FY2007 and FY2008 Budgets, the President recommended that the National Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences (NCLIS) be consolidated with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). In FY2007, while waiting for Congressional action on the proposal in the President's FY2008 Budget, the Commission recognized the need to…

This report includes national and state summary data on public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with an introduction, findings, and numerous tables. The report is based on data from the Public Libraries Survey for fiscal year 2004, and includes information on population of legal service area, service outlets, public service…

Soon after AskALibrarian, Florida's Statewide Virtual Reference Desk, began to offer Chat Reference to the public in 2003, a Quality Assurance Workgroup was established to ensure that the service patrons received would be friendly, accurate, and adequate. To make certain that best practices were used in answering the real time questions, two…

What is the state of intellectual freedom and libraries in the early twenty-first-century digital environment? This question is addressed largely in relation to public and school libraries, where more than 90 percent of documented challenges exist and at which most legislative and judicial actions relevant to intellectual freedom and libraries are…

A discussion of the "virtual library," use of a variety of cost-effective information technologies to provide high-quality library services to every sector of the community, considers implications for the nature and quality of public library services, especially those of branch libraries and libraries in rural areas. (MSE)

The conscientious selection of music materials requires an understanding of the needs of the public being served at least as much as it requires subject competence on the part of the selector. Online and print resources are available to aid in the selection of music materials in all formats, the most important of which are books, scores, audio and…

Many futurists envision that the development of information technology will greatly impact the libraries of tomorrow. In response to this prediction, the Montgomery County (Maryland) Department of Public Libraries conducted a study of key trends and issues that the Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) must consider if they are to remain a…

This paper discusses readers' advisory services in academic libraries from the 1920s to the present. Highlights include: definition of readers' advisor or advisory; browsing rooms and collections; reasons for the decline of this service in academic libraries; recent decline in reading interest and ability among college students; the importance of…

This report is about libraries and the challenges they face in the digital world, and where the public supports, or fails to support, libraries in this time of change. Library leaders' visions for the future are compared with the public's prescriptions for libraries, derived from public opinion research. Informing the study were library leaders'…

This paper presents an annotated bibliography of 69 articles published in the 1990s that examine the impact of technology on reference service in public, school, and academic libraries. The paper is organized in the following seven parts, each dealing with a different type of application of technology: (1) "General Change Caused by…