This paper illustrates how both marketing and advocacy are crucial skills to keeping the public aware of the library's impact. If marketing is promoting an individual library to increase public use, advocacy is broadcasting the purpose of libraries and the role of the librarian to garner public support. The issue of image of must be confronted, a…

This step-by-step guide gives librarians the information to develop successful, collaborative ventures with other organizations in an effort to provide comprehensive and integrated services for children and families. Each chapter outlines steps to take in the creation of a family-centered library environment. The topics discussed are: serving…

Describes how three public library youth librarians used statistics to justify budget requests, change resource allocations, expand services, and show benefits of new services to the community. Examples are provided under the following headings: Show what's missing; Show what's gone wrong; Show what's going right; Show inequities; and Compare and…

Suggests that to reach those responsible for funding, librarians need to be more assertive in making the school library's role and services understood. Discusses maintaining visibility, using every opportunity to tout new materials and services, having credibility and knowing the collection, making libraries comfortable and accessible, and…

Discusses expectations of public library reference service and the reality of what librarians can provide amid declining resources. Suggests reference librarians should define the gap between potential and reality in reference service, and inform the customers about how little money it would take to provide better service. Argues that librarians…

Seventy-seven principals serving grades 7-12 in Missouri schools were surveyed to determine the differences between how principals view school librarians and how school librarians view themselves. Similarities occurred in the perceptions about the importance of a library program and inadequate funding. Views diverged most noticeably in terms of…

The population of state and federal prisons quadrupled between 1971 and 1991, increasing demand for library resources. Outlines the history of prison libraries (1700s-1990s); discusses prison libraries and librarians, law collections, reference services, literacy programs, and funding; and provides a bibliography of prison librarianship covering…

Flexible scheduling in school libraries can provide a mechanism for achieving the learning goals and objectives of both the school library program and the curriculum by making information available at the point of need and by promoting use of the library and its services at a relevant moment instead of on a predetermined schedule. This pilot study…

Provides the following seven guidelines to help librarians better serve mentally disabled students: (1) consult with teachers; (2) select appropriate materials; (3) identify essential library skills; (4) create illustrated signs; (5) be creative about funding; (6) take regular field trips; and (7) don't limit the materials. A list of resources and…

As funds for supporting library and information services dwindle, librarians are beginning to recognize the value of evaluating and justifying their library in terms that the decision makers--those who control the budgets--understand. This book offers proven techniques for implementing a program that both promotes information services and dispels…

This study was designed to update the existing research and to examine the relationship between library media programs and student achievement. The schools selected for the study sample were not selected on a random basis; rather, they were library media centers (LMCs) that responded to a 1989 survey of Colorado LMCs. The study relied entirely…

Examining the academic library within a contextual framework (of colleges, universities, and U.S. society), this book provides an analysis of the institution's content and function. The work emphasizes the structure, organization, decision making, and operations of academic libraries. The history, organization, and cultures of the academic…

This paper examines the purpose and history of the school library in the United States, and specifically in California, and discusses concerns and issues that need to be addressed to ensure that school libraries have a place in the future. The paper concludes that excellent school librarians are essential in ensuring that all young people have…

This book is designed to educate campus administrators on the issues facing their libraries, and the role that a library should have on the campus. Chapters are: (1) "The Academic Library: Its Place and Role in the Institution" (Joanne R. Euster); (2) "What Community Colleges Need from Their Libraries" (David R. Dowell & Jack A. Scott); (3)…

Prison librarians usually work in isolation from other librarians, so getting information and advice about their jobs can be difficult. This book offers a guide to prison librarians, presents new ideas, and raises compelling issues about this field of librarianship. Ten current or former prison librarians cover all aspects of prison libraries and…