In late December, a set of articles and essays in "The New York Times" focused on the public library as a place, and on the changing meaning of that place with the rise of electronic books and the demise of brick-and-mortar bookstores like Borders. As librarians "struggle with the task of redefining their roles and responsibilities in a digital…

The modern world's understanding of American university press has long been shaped by university-press books. American university-press books are good international advertisements for the universities whose logos grace their spines. The growth of transnational scholarship and the expansion of digital communications networks are converging in ways…

Tabular data are presented on 107 university and 12 non-university research libraries' holdings and operating expenditures, providing information by library rank on volumes in library; volumes added; current serials; total staff; and total expenditures. A graph depicts percentages for operating expenditures. (DB)

Comparative statistics are tabulated for volumes in the library, volumes added, current serials, total staff, and total expenditures for 113 university and 12 non-university libraries. The data are from the Association of Research Libraries. (LB)

How should colleges deal with incidents of illegal file sharing on their campuses? At the Technology Forum, aspects of that question were discussed by Cheryl A. Elzy, dean of university libraries at Illinois State University; Jim Gibson, an associate professor of law at the University of Richmond; Stewart McLaurin, executive vice president for…

A table ranking research libraries (both university and non-university libraries) that compares volumes in library, volumes added in 1987-88, current serials, total staff, and total expenditures is presented. (MLW)

The Research Libraries Group is expanding its mission to include alliances with the archival community, the museum community, independent research libraries, and learned societies. Areas of emphasis include collections and information delivery, protecting materials, and assisting in development of computer systems. (DB)

The 108 university research libraries with the largest collections and 11 public and special libraries with large research holdings are listed. Data include rank (universities only), numbers of volumes, volumes added in 1991-92, current serials, permanent staff, and total expenditures in 1991-92. University libraries' total operating expenditures…

As protesters across the Arab world demand an end to autocratic regimes that have drained universities of resources and suffocated critical thinking, scholars see some hope of an Arab renaissance and a new opening for American involvement. From the ancient Library of Alexandria to a new Islamic-arts museum in Qatar that holds 700-year-old…

Tables present 1993-94 data on the top 108 university and 11 nonuniversity research libraries in the United States and Canada, including numbers of volumes in the library, volumes added, number of current serials, permanent staff, and total dollar expenditures. A pie graph also illustrates operating expenditure proportions. (MSE)

The obstacles faced by the online subscription library, Questia, illustrate the pitfalls of designing an online library for college students without winning over librarians and faculty. A major problem is the small size of Questia's collections. (SLD)

Financial pressures brought on by economic recession and increasing costs of academic materials are causing academic libraries to cancel journal subscriptions, reduce book orders, neglect book preservation, cut staff positions, and reduce general services while seeking new revenue sources. Examples of libraries cutting back include those at…

Data on 106 university and 12 nonuniversity research libraries include rankings based on a national index, the number of volumes held, volumes added during the year, current serials, total staff, and total expenditures. Most data are for main campuses only. (MSE)

The Online Computer Library Center, which provides catalogs and interlibrary loan services to most of the nation's libraries, is approaching a financial crossroads and must decide whether to diversify or cut back services. One option would serve academic and research libraries better; the other option would serve public libraries better. (MSE)

Data on the holdings of university and other research libraries include library ranking, volumes held and added, current serials holdings, and spending for materials and salaries. (MSE)