Self-service is a hit. From gas stations to banks to grocery stores--it has become table stakes for retailers who aim to satisfy an increasingly independent consumer. Libraries are no exception, and, in fact, with their card catalog past, they may well have been in the vanguard in enabling customers to find what they want on their own. Card…

Librarians, like patrons and researchers, are caught between traditional library service models and the promise of evolving information technologies. In recent years, professional conferences have strategically featured programs and presentations geared toward building a mobile agenda and adapting or adopting services to meet new demands of mobile…

As question answering services in the commercial sector proliferate, libraries are innovating with new forms of electronic reference (e-reference). The Library of Congress' Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) extends worldwide. Discussion includes reference service developments; "reclaiming" users; growth of library interest…

Examines how librarians are customizing their services and collections for handheld computing. Discusses the widest adoption of PDAs (personal digital assistants) in libraries that serve health and medical communities; PDA-friendly information pages; the reference focus; journals and databases; lending materials; publicity; use of PDAs by library…

This article discusses the possible answers to most librarians' questions and how advanced and hi-technology help them in the library world. Many of the answers to librarians' questions regarding digital media depend upon community/patron awareness and library resources. In this article, the author presents some quoted statements from electronic…

Suggests that digital resources and telecommunications give librarians the best chance in decades to reexamine and achieve many of their fundamental goals. Discusses the goals of providing the right information in appropriate formats, keeping the intellectual record, providing personalized information services, and serving as educators, and cites…

Discusses developments under three relatively new directors in the New York, Brooklyn, and Queens Borough Public Libraries. Highlights include budgets and fundraising, technology, mission statements, personnel, ethnicity, services, and renovations. (AEF)

Discusses the challenges confronting law libraries in this age of technology. Highlights include physical storage space; transformation of the library environment; search and retrieval challenges; law library/librarian profile; librarian/publisher partnerships; and the future roles of technology and library services. (AEF)

Assesses the changes in interlibrary loan (ILL) practices, and points the way to an ideal future. Discusses patron-initiated document request systems; library-mediated ordering systems; document delivery suppliers; accessing electronic resources; ILL management software; paying ILL invoices; new electronic delivery options; and results of a…

Argues that, in spite of the financial burden on local, state, and federal justice systems, prison libraries must be transformed from access-to-the-courts programs and emerge as community information and cultural centers that provide both electronic and book formats. (AEF)

The director of the Public Library of Nashville & Davidson County (Tennessee) discusses the library's development since 1995. Highlights include Nashville's growth potential and political climate; improving the efficiency of internal operations; staff involvement in problem-solving (technology training and systemwide programming);…