As background for defining public library adult services in the 1980s the perceived role of the public library in the United States since its inception is summarized and changing definitions are analyzed. Data collection and analysis plans for the Adult Services in the Eighties Project are described. (EM)

Contains papers presented at the Cooperative Reference Service Committee program during the 1981 ALA Annual Conference, including discussions of the Library of Congress Reference Correspondence Referral program, the University of Illinois Slavic Reference Service, the functions of the British Library Lending Division, and national-level…

Discussion of a statement of goals and objectives for reference department staff is based on an informal survey of reference managers in academic and public libraries and professional literature of planning. Strategies for developing statements (role of manager, arriving at goals, setting priorities, developing objectives) are described. Fifteen…

Discusses the role of college libraries in the teaching of library skills to undergraduates, and describes a program in which an English department cooperated with library staff in sharing the responsibility for instruction. (FM)

Discusses objectives for public library services to the disabled in terms of material, equipment, facilities, services, and staffing, and reports selected results of a 1979 survey of public library service to the physically impaired. (FM)

Describes the library skills workshops, expressly designed for faculty secretaries, executive secretaries, administrative assistants, and clerk-typists, that have been successfully experimented with by the University of Maine at Orono Libraries. (Author)

This survey of rural and suburban libraries produced over 660 usable responses on special problems of rural libraries. Nearly half of libraries had budgets of under $30,000; about half did not have M.L.S. degree-holding staff members; majority participated in cooperative system; many reported inadequate reference resources; and isolation was major…

The history of the Reference and Adult Services Division (RASD) of the American Library Association is traced from the creation of the individual adult and reference service divisions through the merger that formed RASD. Focuses on the origin, structure, and activities of the division and on the individuals responsible for the development of RASD.…

Describes a workshop program for patron instruction in the use of the Ohio State University Libraries' Library Control System (LCS), a circulation system that is evolving into an online catalog. The instructional objectives, attendance levels, participant characteristics, and success of the workshops are outlined, and seven references are…

The University of Washington (Seattle) developed an administrative process that integrates user needs assessment. The user-centered library is defined and assessment initiatives including policies, surveys, analysis of resource allocation, and professional development are discussed. (AEF)

Discusses how to develop library collections for Spanish-speaking users based on a presentation at the 1994 ALA (American Library Association) annual convention in Miami Beach (Florida). Highlights include selection and acquisition tools, reviewing media, vendors, keeping collections current, distributors and booksellers, administrative and…

Seven articles on library reference services highlight reference obsolescence in academic libraries, major studies of unobtrusive reference tests, methods for evaluating reference desk performance, reference interview evaluation, problems of reference desk control, online searching by end users, and reference collection development in…

Describes the implementation of the Western Library Network's LaserCat CD-ROM catalog in the medium-sized academic library at the University of Idaho. Selection of LaserCat, creation of a LaserCat/Information desk in the library lobby, staff training, staff reactions, and user reactions are discussed. (Nine references) (Author/MES)

Describes projects of Oklahoma libraries designed to combat the problem of illiteracy among adults and explains Oklahoma Image, a humanities effort aimed at attracting out-of-school adults to public libraries by focusing on the state's multicultural heritage. Column also reports adult service news from other states. (JD)

Distinguishes between managers (administrators) and leaders (innovators) and argues that while managers outnumber leaders in most organizations, new leaders are essential if organizations are to move into the future. Defines leadership and discusses leadership qualities in libraries, instruction librarians and leadership, collaborative leadership…