The role of public libraries is changing in response to a multitude of influences and trends. The exponential growth of technology as the primary method of information access, funding challenges, changing demographics, and other mitigating factors have forced public libraries to become more than book repositories. Community library leaders and…

In the United States, individual states have different means of determining and distributing funding. This influences library service and access to information particularly as it pertains to critical Internet access. Funding and service trends have changed, especially as it relates to public libraries, with some modifications working to their…

The California State Library is charged with performing the following activities as defined by law. The State Library, under the direction and control of the State Librarian, an appointee of the Governor, has responsibility: (1) To collect, preserve, generate and disseminate a wide array of information; (2) To serve as the central reference and…

The Guidelines are focused on the library services to babies and toddlers, their families and supporting organizations dealing with early literacy and appropriate services for the very young. Early brain development research has shown the unequivocal impact that talking, singing and reading to babies and toddlers can have on their acquisition of…

The 40 tables of this report summarize information about libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia in fiscal year 1996. Includes information about public library service measures, administration and staffing, and other characteristics. (SLD)

Presented here are the results of a systematic attempt to document on a national scale the existence, quality, and quantity of library service provided to an often neglected segment of the public: the inmates, both adult and juvenile, housed in city and county jails, detention centers, work farms, half-way houses, diagnostic treatment centers, or…

Describes the oldest and largest combined school-public library system in the United States. According to school principals and librarians who function within it day to day, the system is working, although it has limitations. (LLS)

In this article, the author describes how the New Orleans Public Library (NOPL) struggled with a fraction of its former staff, limited hours, and a massive fundraising challenge after Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. While previously 171 people staffed locations, only 40 employees plus a smaller--and shifting--cadre of…

This report includes national and state summary data on public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with an introduction, selected findings, and tables. The report is based on data from the Public Libraries Survey for fiscal year 2005, and includes information on service measures such as number of users of electronic resources,…

Prepared by the Task Force on Library Legislation appointed by Wisconsin's State Superintendent of Public Instruction, this final report presents policy statements and action recommendations addressing issues related to the organizational and funding problems of public libraries, public library systems, and multitype library cooperation. The…

Report on survey of 160 public libraries highlights characteristics of libraries involved in literacy education, incentives and barriers, services provided, populations served, library staff, materials and equipment, library participation in cooperative literacy efforts, and budget and funding sources. A recommended approach to library involvement…

Describes a teen volunteer program sponsored by the Clearwater Public Library System. The discussion covers promotional activities, job responsibilities and training, program evaluation, staffing, and funding. The volunteer application and guidelines are appended. A sidebar reports the results of a national survey of the public library resources…

Discussion of library outreach programs to senior citizens highlights the experiences of Driftwood Library (Lincoln City, Oregon) in using multimedia kits by Bi-Folkal that were designed for use in nursing homes, senior care centers, and retirement homes. Library staffing, funding, and planning needs are addressed. (LRW)

Living in the vast shadow cast by the spires of the Magic Kingdom presents special challenges for Orlando's Orange County Library System (OCLS), the most formidable of which is increasing its relatively small user base. The library additionally faces tension between the administration and staff, political strife on the board, and looming contract…

The first section of this report is a directory which features 203 public libraries, 7 multi-county library systems, 12 single-county public library systems, and the multitype members of the Alabama Library Exchange (i.e., 8 public, 6 school, 8 academic, and 10 special libraries). Entries list the library's address and telephone number, names of a…