This research seeks to find the new trends in virtual reference and online learning by looking at the impact of COVID-19 on academic libraries, and by identifying gaps in professional development for academic librarians, particularly in reference and instruction. Responses from the surveyed academic librarians indicate that many services…

Electronic communication technologies continue to change the landscape of reference services. For many users, virtual communication is the preferred means of conversing. Synchronous virtual reference, similar to other synchronous means of communication, is an important method for reaching students and for providing teaching and learning…

An academic librarian at the University of South Carolina, faced with providing online resources for distant and distributed learners, examines whether there is any difference between distant and distributed learners. Illustrates changes brought on by implementation of information technologies. Discusses seeking a new definition, meeting…

Journals Online News (JON) is a World Wide Web site created and maintained by the Collection Development Team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) Libraries in order to speak with the UTK community about journals-related issues. Its primary function at present is to provide UTK faculty and other interested parties with the latest…

Describes experiences in providing real-time online reference services to users with remote Web access at the Bowling Green State University library. Discusses the decision making process first used to select HumanClick software to communicate via chat; and the selection of a fee-based customer service product, Virtual Reference Desk. (LRW)

Provides an overview of the services offered by Texas A&M University's Sterling C. Evans Library via the World Wide Web. Included are public relations, instruction, searching capabilities, enhanced communications, and exhibit options. Future applications of the Web in academic libraries are also addressed. (AEF)

This library technology plan from Mission College in California establishes the goals, objectives, strategies, and implementation plans of the library in developing and maintaining its technical capabilities and electronic resources. The goals are organized into four categories: information resources, instructional resources, infrastructure, and…

Technical services librarians can use the Internet for acquisitions--search online databases for title information; listservs--discuss professional issues; cataloging--telnet to other university catalogs; serials--perform online claiming and/or subscribe to electronic journals; bibliographic utilities--search OCLC and RLIN. A related concern is…

Reserve readings are a special collection in the university library, established by a professor to support a particular class. A recent study at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill found enthusiasm among current reserve users for an electronic reserve system (Petersen, 1996). The study described in this paper examined the reasons some…

The Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) surveyed Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions to measure the degree of electronic resource sharing in ARL libraries; to discover which resources are being shared and between what kinds of institutions; and what documentation is available. Of the 119 ARL institutions surveyed, 53…

The growth of telecommunications technology for distance learning in the Cyberspace Age has opened many options for studying off-campus from home or office from remote and sparsely populated communities. Higher education is exploring this modern version of correspondence courses with the goal of increasing their student enrollment as well as…

These proceedings document the fifth year of the "Brick and Click Libraries Symposium", held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. Thirty five peer-reviewed papers and abstracts, written by academic librarians, and presented at the symposium are included in this volume. Many of the entries have…