First offered to public libraries in 2004, downloadable audiobooks have grown by leaps and bounds. According to the Audio Publishers Association, their sales today account for 21% of the spoken-word audio market. It hasn't been easy, however. WMA. DRM. MP3. AAC. File extensions small on letters but very big on consequences for librarians,…

Batch mode processing is compared, using cost-effectiveness, with on-line processing for computer-aided searching of chemical abstracts. Consideration for time, need, coverage, and adaptability are found to be the criteria by which a searcher selects a method, and sometimes both methods are used. There is a tradeoff between batch mode's slower…

The National Bureau of Standards is mechanizing a catalog of currently available information sources and services. Information from recent surveys of machine-readable, commercially-available bibliographic data bases, and the various current awareness, batch retrospective, and interactive retrospective services which can access them have been…

The availability of electronic information sources in libraries has revived the debate over user fees. As increasing amounts of information are available only electronically, the cost of providing access becomes higher and harder to predict. User fees help to defray the increased costs of electronic information while allowing libraries to continue…

Argues that information management calls for development of an organizational strategy that encompasses users, information resources, and the available and appropriate technology. Discussion of factors involved includes the nature of information and information resources, variance in information usage, and guidelines for developing a strategy to…

Argues that librarians should actively accept their responsibility to ensure and provide useful content to the general Internet public. Discusses change brought on by electric commerce and the need for librarians to fill traditional roles, as well as new roles in providing and encouraging Web usage by the public. (AEF)

Presents five articles and a company resource directory to help librarians successfully incorporate technology into school libraries. Discusses actual situations, examines student needs, and gives advice to help librarians with library automation systems, videodiscs, library security systems, media retrieval, networking CD-ROMs, and locating…

Four articles address traditional mediation in library services, including the librarian as mediator, the reference librarian as information intermediary, recommitment to patrons' information needs, and mediation in reference service to extend patron success. (87 references) (LRW)

SCORPIO (Subject Content-Oriented Retriever for Processing Information On-line), a set of computer programs developed by the Library of Congress for use by the Library Library's staff, is described. Intended as a users guide for those not trained in data processing, this document presents the system's general characteristics together with a…

In using conventional print, CD-ROM and online resources, librarians are still middlepersons between publishers and users. By exploiting Internet and World Wide Web online technology and developing local databases, libraries can tap new information sources and make them available to local audiences and others dispersed around the world in an…