The Web 2.0 "buzz" starts with new technologies such as virtual worlds, cell phones and handheld devices that offer 24/7 web access, tagging, social networks, and blogs and brings together various web capabilities in unique combinations. Web 2.0, however, is about much more than the technology--it is about a change in focus to participation, user…

The dynamic and rapidly expanding field of neuroscience traditionally has involved the study of the nervous system from a biological/medical standpoint. In recent years, however, the science has become multidisciplinary, attracting researchers from computer science, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and even the humanities. For public and college…

Unless a limited set of specific goals is pursued with diligence, the local library may find itself running off in all directions at once, trying to satisfy every library-related need of a very heterogeneous "community." (16 references) (Author)

This article offers five ideas librarians should review every now and then to make sure the right services are being offered in the most effective manner to the people they serve. These five exercises or ideas may not be completely easy but neither are they difficult or expensive. However, they will guarantee an increased awareness of, and…

In response to evidences of critical human need, the King County Library Board and staff have been exploring ways in which to do their part in alleviating the problems of unemployment, hunger and malnutrition and related social and health problems among the people they serve. (3 references) (Author)

The Bay Area Reference Center (BARC) offered a workshop that concentrates on how the public library can act as a center for free knowledge for the consumer in all fields. The bibliography is one of those included in the workshop kit. (46 references) (Author)

Librarians should expend less effort on debates about fees for services; instead they should seek to provide those services in the fairest possible manner. Cooperation with vendors, administrators, politicians, and others offers an opportunity to minimize through special subsidies the costs of the services to individual users. References are…

This first of three articles describing implementation of 1979 White House Conference on Library and Information Services resolutions covers leadership role of National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, needs of underserved, organizations and professions, international activities, public/private sector interaction, statistics and…

In addition to providing a brief history of undergraduate libraries, this article indicates that one cause of the undergraduate libraries' failure is the lack of effective communication with students. (MF)

He may be fated to look boyish when he's collecting social security, but Steven M. Cohen, proprietor of the blog Library Stuff, is as grownup and dedicated a librarian as one will ever meet. His first library job was as a reference librarian and Internet trainer in a public library. He loved its "overall feeling of democracy in action"…

Reviews research findings on the effects of user fees in online searching, and concludes that charging does discourage use of computerized retrieval systems. It is recommended that alternatives to direct user fees be sought whenever possible. (SW)

Librarians are in the business of serving the public. Perhaps the public happens to be those who live in a particular city or county, or study at a college or university, or work at a certain organization. No matter where librarians work, they have clientele whose needs for information and entertainment need to be met. Some would think that…

Librarians can play a vital role as a profession, by making sure that prisoners have the legal tools they need in order to help themselves, and that they are not denied access to such tools by a bevy of restrictions. (9 references) (Author/NH)

The librarian's role in bringing order and understanding to the drug dilemma is described. (Author)

Considers the current trend in libraries toward live, or digital, reference services. Highlights include models for reference, including synchronous versus asynchronous; benefits for users; software packages; user expectations; suitability of the technology; and determining the best service for users and their information needs. (LRW)