At the 2023 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, the International Relations Committee, Americas Subcommittee invited panelists from academic, research, and public libraries to discuss various ways of sharing Indigenous-made materials from the United States and Latin America in the panel, "Sharing Knowledge: Projects and…

Currently "Big Data" is an emerging field that presents several Information Technology challenges regarding the capture, storage search, structure, and visualization of this data. The real challenge for organizations is to find ways to extract value from it and provide better services to their clients. The data generated in academic and…

State library agencies (StLAs) provide key leadership for library services planning and development in each state. Their structure and governance varies widely across states; StLAs are located in various departments in state government and they report to different authorities. This research brief gives an overview of the revenues, expenditures,…

One of the most exciting developments to occur within the library profession in recent years has been the re-evaluation of library's role in resource discovery in the web environment. This has involved recognition of short-comings of online library catalogues, a re-affirmation of the importance of metadata and a new focus on the wealth of…

For over a half a century, State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAAs) have played a key role in the development and delivery of library services in the United States. While the organization and responsibilities of these agencies vary from state to state, they have two things in common: state-level planning for library services and…

This paper reports on a questionnaire survey of 16 national libraries designed to clarify how national libraries attempt to justify their web archiving activities. Results indicate they envisage that a) the benefits brought about by their initiatives are greater than the overall costs, b) the costs imposed on libraries are greater than the costs…

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…

Libraries of government departments provide information to policymakers, to government staff and employees, and, sometimes, to the general public. It is essential that libraries of government departments are organised and managed so as to collect and provide the information most needed by government decision makers, government workers, and the…

Pay equity, as a concept and outcome, is significant for libraries and librarians because it demonstrates the value of the library and information profession, and the significance of the work undertaken by librarians and allied professionals. The State Library's involvement in the NSW Pay Equity Case and precursor investigations into the worth of…

The committee's primary objectives were to evaluate the adequacy of the relationship of Federal libraries to other information activities in the government and to determine the role of the library in a total, integrated information system. A statement in considerable detail of the origin and development of extra-library information programs was…

Before 1870, copyright registration and deposit were functions of several government departments. After the first Federal copyright law was passed in 1790, copyright registration was performed by the clerk in the U.S. district court for the district where the applicant resided, and single copies of copyright deposits were sent to different…

The views of three parliamentary librarians and two academics on the subject of library services to Australian legislators are given in this publication. A variety of viewpoints is given in order to stimulate and provoke reaction from the Members of Parliament for whom the book is basically intended. The five articles included are: (1) "The…

This paper examines the characteristics and functions of governmental libraries and information systems which contribute to the decision making activities of governmental institutions. It explores the governmental planning process to outline sources of information, subject specialities, information formats, classes of users, and information…

Defined in terms of their institutional role and historical development, national statistical libraries are discussed in the context of present structures, size, personnel situation, technical equipment, financial structure, general and specific activities, areas of specialization, and growth rate, as well as the interlibrary cooperative efforts…

This paper discusses the experiences of the Research Department of the Italian Chamber of Deputies over the past few years. The first section describes the origin of the department in the 1970s, including political factors, basic organizational features, and the salient features of the department's activity. The second section addresses the…