Explores the possibility of using Web contact center software to offer reference assistance to remote users. Discusses a project by the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System/Santiago Library System consortium to test contact center software and to develop a virtual reference network. (Author/LRW)

Describes the development of the Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) by the Library of Congress and partner libraries that provides professional reference service to users through an international digital network of libraries. Discusses the benefits of searching library collections rather than just Internet sources and considers future…

Based in part on the work of three task forces, this report presents recommendations from the Phase II Statewide Automation Committee appointed in June 1987 to develop specific steps to implement the 20 recommendations in the library automation plan issued in May 1987, "Libraries and Technology: A Strategic Plan for the Use of Advanced…

Discusses changes in academic library collection development due to societal attitudes toward higher education; budget and service pressures; copyright, licensing, and intellectual property issues; and preservation considerations. Recommends cooperative collection management, made more possible through network technology, as a means to effectively…

Discusses issues and trends affecting Canadian academic libraries that were major themes at the 1996 Canadian Library Association annual conference in Halifax (Nova Scotia). Topics include government funding decreases; restructuring in education and library services; consortia; library cooperation and collaboration; computer networks; interlibrary…

Discusses virtual libraries, i.e., library services available to users via personal computers; considers the issues of technological development, user demands, and organizational response; and describes progress toward virtual libraries in the Netherlands, including networks, online systems, navigation tools, subject classification, coordination…

Describes the impact of the Illinois State Library's Interlibrary Cooperation Project on school libraries. Interlibrary loan benefits for both students and teachers are discussed; reference backup and consulting services are described; and other advantages, including continuing education opportunities and access to audiovisual materials, are…

This paper describes the creation of an automated network of museum libraries in Spain. The only way in which the specialized libraries in the world today can continue to be active and to offer valid information is to automate the service they offer, and create network libraries with cooperative plans. The network can be configured with different…

Discusses multitype library cooperation in South Dakota, including a statewide automated network that supports library operations and contains periodical indexes; state library activities that include providing service to rural libraries via the Internet as well as library staff training; and school library projects. (LRW)

At the fourth Trinational Library Forum in 1994, librarians from the United States, Canada, and Mexico gathered to discuss topics of international librarianship. Presentations, some in English and some in Spanish with a brief English language summary, include: (1) "Perspectivas de la Produccion y Exportaciones de la Industria Editorial…

At the first Transborder Library Forum in 1991, 132 librarians from the United States and Mexico gathered to get to know one another, discuss issues of common interest, and begin to build an international network. Conference materials are provided in both English and Spanish. Keynote addresses were delivered by Alberto Alvaro Rios and Jesus Lau.…

The CREATE Network (Computer Resource Educational Access in Tennessee Education) brought together library professionals from Tennessee's seven historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) for purposes of training and implementation of library applications of computer-based information technology. Annual training seminars were held at…

At the second Transborder Library Forum, 181 participants from the United States and Mexico gathered to discuss topics of international librarianship. The proceedings include the following sections: Discurso de Bienvenida (Welcome Speech) (Carlos Salas); "El Etnocentrismo Mexicano y Los Servicios de Informacion" (Mexican Ethnocentrism…

At the sixth transborder forum, librarians from the United States, Canada, and Mexico gathered to explore topics of interest to academic, public, school, and special librarians in all three countries. The conference program and general information are provided in English and Spanish. Presentations, some in English and some in Spanish, include:…

Recent technological advances and administrative planning have significantly improved the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's (UNL) ability to provide continuing education courses to students at a distance. The UNL Libraries deliver services in partnership with the Division of Continuing Studies and several departments on campus. This paper focuses…