It has been an unconventional career path. Sharon Morris has been a children's librarian, a collection development librarian, a product manager for CARL, and an academic advisor in a graduate library science program. Today she's coordinator for AskColorado, the 24/7 online reference service recognized as 2004 Project of the Year by the Colorado…

In late 2006, the National Library of Australia (NLA) implemented a trial Instant Messaging (IM) service that ran in parallel with the AskNow chat reference service for a six month period. The trial was a resounding success, proving both a demand for an IM service and the suitability of the medium for reference service provision in a collaborative…

Described are in-house training courses developed and conducted at the U.S. General Accounting Office Library for online searching of the DIALOG, SCORPIO, ORBIT, and New York Times Information Bank retrieval systems. An appendix contains a course outline/schedule for the training program. (SW)

Presents background information on DOBIS (an online library system) evaluation, software acquisition, and development, and describes the status and plans for DOBIS in the Canadian government. Appendices provide an overview of the Canadian government version of the system from a librarian's and a systems analyst's perspective. (CWM)

A model for monitoring the Web site development process in the public sector is proposed and tested empirically with a sample of local government Web sites. Four factors in the matrix of the framework--publicity, local service, differentiation and participation--together with two dimensions of attracting and delivering were proved to be important…

A study was conducted by an electronic bulletin board system (BBS) team to explore a variety of approaches to electronic communication between the Government Printing Office's (GPO) Library Programs Service and the depository libraries. After reviewing various dissemination technologies, the BBS team recommended that an electronic bulletin board…

This guide to information services used by the Environmental Research Center (ERC) in Cincinnati, the scientific and technical information focal point for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), explains the online searching services available at the Cincinnati Library, outlines the procedure for requesting a literature search, and…

Describes implementation of five subsystems of Integrated Library System's (ILS) version 2.1 (minicomputer-based automated library system) at the Pentagon Library: online catalog (search strategies, user acceptance); bibliographic subsystems (cataloging, retrospective conversion); circulation; serials check-in; administrative subsystem (report…

Describes the organization of the House of Commons Library which provides information, documentation, and research services to its members and outlines the history of the Parliamentary On-Line Information System (POLIS). The physical description of POLIS, indexing practices, users, and the Library's subject thesaurus are discussed. Eight…

Presents results of study undertaken at Census Bureau Library to determine which databases would be most productive and how they can be effectively searched to meet demands of bureau staff for literature on statistical research and methodology. Database selection in DIALOG Information Retrieval Service and journal coverage are noted. (EJS)

In the late 1980s, when few Canadian citizens had Internet access, federal departments and agencies in Canada were already preparing for the future by putting information and documentation online. This paper outlines several government-sponsored programs--SchoolNet, the Canadian Investment Fund, Community Access Program, Canada Foundation for…

Describes the development of and services provided by the Federal Library and Information Network, which consists of over 1,000 federal agencies and information centers. Topics discussed include membership and governance, services provided, training and support, and future plans. A list of vendors/services is appended. (seven notes) (Author/CLB)

Papers on scientific/technical information and libraries, which were presented at the 1983 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference, include: (1) "Patents as Information--An Unused Resource" by Richard D. Walker (United States); (2) "Survey of the Information Services of the Library of the German Patent…

This reference book provides the latest information about the vast collections of U.S. and overseas federal libraries. The nearly 2,300 entries have been updated, and 123 new entries have been added. Entries include details such as the name of the library administrator, type of library, number of staff, size of collection, special subjects and…

Six papers on the theme, "Administrative Libraries in a Technological World: Past, Present, and Future--A General Stocktaking and a State of the Art Report" focus on West German telecommunications and information technology and the use of data processing and other technological aids in West German administrative libraries. These papers,…