This article enumerates factors which created demand for fee-based information service (commercial databases, competition for proprietary information in business world, effectiveness of librarians) and relates experiences at two public libraries. Sources of business, value of advertising, techniques of selling, and hiring and deployment of staff…

Profile of a regional and subject oriented library networking experience in New Jersey focuses on the function of the Art Department of the Newark Public Library. Resource and reference services, categories of reference questions, interlibrary loans, photocopy service, and additional services are highlighted. Six sources are given. (EJS)

This profile of INFORM, the fee-based service offered by Minneapolis Public Library and Information Center, highlights its background, online search services and frequently used databases, major planning considerations (equipment, user aids, choice of vendor, training), internal operations (billing, purchasing items for clients), marketing, and…

Describes the program packages project of the Baltimore County Public Library that was developed to meet the informational and entertainment needs of organized groups of older adults. Topics of completed packages are listed, and the instructions, discussion questions, activity suggestions, and resources of its package on aging are included. (JD)

Develops the concept of "coordinated service delivery" in relation to the public library and describes several successful library-agency liaisons, including the bicentennial project, Operation Independence. (JD)

Considers the impact of Remote Electronic Access and Delivery of Information (READI) upon library services, discusses the uses of online public access information systems in a library setting, describes videotex systems currently in use, and outlines possibilities for the creation of local databases, automatic borrowing of books, and other…

Places the cost considerations associated with public library automation in a framework of public finance comfortable to most administrators, discusses the importance of experience with use patterns in the electronic library in opening up new and innovative financing methods, and stresses the role of the library in the information industry. (JL)