This paper provides a snapshot of United States academic libraries in 2020 and explores longitudinal trends in staffing and expenditures for 1996 to 2020. The authors merged and analyzed academic library data from the National Center for Education Statistics from over 4,000 postsecondary institutions. Characteristics are explored by region and…

Open records requests can be an important tool in obtaining valuable information to use in negotiations with content providers. This paper examines the opportunities libraries have in requesting public information through open records requests to better support their purchasing decisions. The case is made for investing time up front to better…

The COVID-19 pandemic, which hit academic libraries in the United States during the spring semester of 2020, forced librarians and staff to redouble their efforts to reach out to users in light of newly enforced safety measures such as building closures, quarantine periods, enforced social distancing, etc. This article describes three…

With the increasing prevalence of e-books in academic library collections, faculty and librarians have begun to express concern regarding the accessibility of these digital texts for students with physical or learning disabilities. To begin addressing these concerns, the California State University System's Affordable Learning Solutions…

For over a half a century, State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAAs) have played a key role in the development and delivery of library services in the United States. While the organization and responsibilities of these agencies vary from state to state, they have two things in common: state-level planning for library services and…

The Public Libraries Survey (PLS) is a voluntary survey conducted annually by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS collects these data under the mandate in the Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 as stated in SEC. 210. The U.S. Census Bureau is the data collection agent for IMLS. The fiscal year (FY) 2009 survey is the…

Many scholarly studies investigating school library services provided to students with special needs primarily address aspects of collaboration with special education (SPED) teachers in an immersed school environment. Scarcely studied are ways that school library programs (SLPs) empower students in schools serving only students with a specific…

In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate passed the controversial Federal Library Agency Act (FLAA) on a nearly unanimous voice vote, sending it to President Obama for his expected signature. The House had passed it in February with a two-thirds majority. The FLAA creates a new mandate by combining federal library functions scattered…

This report marks the third release of library statistics data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). It contains data on state library agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia for state fiscal year (FY) 2008. The data were collected through the State Library Agencies (StLA) Survey, the product of a cooperative…

Copyright law is a source of a great deal of bewilderment and frustration to academic librarians. Beyond the basics of copyright protection and fair use, most librarians struggle to grasp the complexity of the law and the roadblocks it presents to access and use. This article attempts to elucidate some of those complexities by suggesting seven…

Today school library media specialists operate in an environment of daily challenges and controversies. "No Child Left Behind" established mandates that all educators are scrambling to meet. No matter how people feel about the way the legislation is being carried out, it is difficult to argue against its purpose--that all educators must…

This report marks the second release of library statistics data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). It contains data on state library agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia for state fiscal year (FY) 2007. The data were collected through the State Library Agencies (StLA) Survey, the product of a cooperative…

This is the first comprehensive, national-level study of the state of sound recording preservation ever conducted in the U.S. The authors have produced a study outlining the web of interlocking issues that now threaten the long-term survival of the sound recording history. This study tells everyone that major areas of America's recorded sound…

This paper summarizes the history of privacy as it relates to library records. It commences with a discussion of how the concept of privacy first originated through case law and follows the concept of privacy as it has affected library records through current day and the "USA PATRIOT Act."

The 2012 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 48th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The "Digest" has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field…