On May 31st 2012 the ACTive ALIA Group and Australian Government Libraries Information network (AGLIN) ran a national symposium on the topic of "Value of Libraries". Approximately 80 attended this event which was designed to challenge librarians with conversations that focused on economic and other means of demonstrating our value--value…

This study examines what the public search for in the catalogue of the State Library of Victoria (SLV). As well as indicating the type of content being accessed, this gives an indication of what catalogue users expect of the State Library collection. A content analysis was undertaken of a random, stratified sample of 4,000 search queries typed in…

This article identifies and provides some commentary on the key issues emerging from research into the digitisation of Indigenous materials in collections conducted in collaboration with three state libraries. It situates the research project within the broader context of related activity aimed at addressing the ongoing challenges of access,…

This study examines the influence of culture on digital libraries of the first wave. The local cultures of innovation of five European national libraries (Biblioteca nacional de Portugal, Bibliotheque nationale de France, Die Deutsche Bibliothek, the National Library of Scotland, and the British Library) are reconstructed in case histories from…

Traditionally, several types of library in Australia have been perceived as having a "research" role, notably the National Library, the state libraries, and the university libraries, together with a few special libraries serving research-producing organisations such as the CSIRO. This paper provides some speculations on how some…

The Islamic Republic of Iran's parliament, the Majlis, passed in 1990 a law setting out the functions of its national library. In 2005, the inauguration of the first stage of the new national library building was celebrated as a major national cultural and architectural achievement. This article looks at the origins and evolution of the National…

Presents: "Research on Libraries/Librarianship in 1998"; "Assessment of the Role of School/Public Libraries in Support of Education Reform"; "Number of Libraries in the United States, Canada, and Mexico"; Highlights of NCES Surveys"; "Library Acquisition Expenditures, 1997-1998: United States Public,…

Papers on parliamentary and legislative libraries, which were presented at the 1983 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference, include: (1) "Need for and Use of Parliamentary Papers," a report by Eeva-Maija Tammekann on the results of a 1983 survey of 37 parliamentary libraries (with a 51% response rate) covering…

These nine articles discuss research and statistics on libraries and librarianship, including libraries in the United States, Canada, and Mexico; acquisition expenditures in public, academic, special, and government libraries; price indexes; state rankings of public library data; library buildings; expenditures in school library media centers; and…

This issue of the IATUL (International Association of Technological University Libraries) Proceedings focuses on developments in Australian libraries. The first article, "University Librarianship in Australia" (D. H. Borchardt), reviews the growth of librarianship in Australia and examines some current issues. "Information Retrieval…