The goals of this SPEC Kit were to report on the extent to which ARL (Association of Research Libraries) libraries provide electronic reference services and to offer a snapshot of the types of users reached, questions received, policies established, data-gathering techniques utilized, and innovations implemented. The first section of the kit…

Bibliotek.dk is a development project, resulting in a World Wide Web site, that gives the Danish citizen access via the Internet to search and order material in the collections of Danish public and research libraries. The citizen decides himself or herself which library he or she wants to collect the material from. Bibliotek.dk is developed in…

This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit presents the results of a survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries designed to gather information about who has responsibility for the development, management, and maintenance of library World Wide Web sites and to determine which combination of human resources works…

This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit presents the results of a survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries designed to gather data on chat reference service. A total of 66 of 124 ARL member libraries responded to the survey. A copy of the questionnaire with tabulated results is presented. Representative…

Describes an Edinburgh-based research project that is exploring issues related to reference work in digital libraries, the role of reference librarians with remote access users, library networking, and collaborative reference work. User experiences and librarian work patterns are related to the design of a prototype Web-based network reference…

Discusses German libraries' access to the Internet and World Wide Web, and reviews German library development and organization. Topics include state libraries; research library networks; national scientific service organizations that provide specialized information services; funding; standards; online catalog software; document delivery and…

The Australian university system can fund the creation of a scholarly collection of serials for use by the nation by increasing the average expenditure on libraries from 5.1% to 5.3% of total university expenditure. Once the national collection has been built, virtual access can be provided using a Web-based model called MEADS (Monash Electronic…

This paper discusses changes in information services at university libraries in Israel, focusing on the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. Highlights include: combining the 20 departmental libraries at the Technion into one library system; efforts to build the status of the central library as the libraries' leader; the integrated library…

Discusses ways in which libraries are using the World Wide Web to provide information via a home page, based on information from a survey in Iceland as well as a larger study that conducted content analyses of home pages of public and school libraries in 13 countries. (Author/LRW)

This paper considers innovation in academic libraries. The first part explores the definition and nature of innovation and the literature relevant to academic libraries in particular. In the second part, the outcomes of a search of library World Wide Web sites and a survey of International Association of Technological University Libraries (IATUL)…

This SPEC (Systems Procedures and Exchange Center) Kit and Flyer summarizes results of a survey of ARL (Association of Research Libraries) members that was designed to gather information about current approaches to bibliographic control of materials digitized for preservation. The survey is intentionally limited to the cataloging treatment of…

This paper discusses the impact of change on the State Library of New South Wales (Australia), a large public research library charged with the care and continuing use of a documentary heritage. The first section provides background on the State Library, including history, collection, mission, and use. The second section describes library clients,…

This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit presents the results of a survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries designed to examine the systems research libraries use to authenticate and authorize the users of their online networked information resources. A total of 52 of 121 ARL member libraries responded to…

This book presents examples of how libraries are using XML (eXtensible Markup Language) to solve problems, expand services, and improve systems. Part I contains papers on using XML in library catalog records: "Updating MARC Records with XMLMARC" (Kevin S. Clarke, Stanford University) and "Searching and Retrieving XML Records via the…

Describes the experiences of the Italian National Research Council Library staff in the successful development and implementation of its Web site. Discusses electronic information sources that interface with the Web site; library services; technical infrastructure; and the choice of a Web-based library management system. (Author/LRW)