This report features syntheses of select Causality: School Libraries and Student Success II (CLASS II) research findings as they relate to the Shared Foundations of Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, and Engage from the The American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) "National School Library Standards for Learners, School…

The American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) Causality: School Libraries and Student Success II (CLASS II) project was the first step in developing a long-term, three-phase school library research agenda to investigate causal relationships between school libraries staffed by professionally prepared school librarians and student learning.…

Science fiction is used to describe four scenarios of the library of the future: completely computerized; rehumanized; post-cataclysmic, reinvented; and post-computer, mental high-tech. The future is discussed in terms of what is possible, probable, and desirable. An exercise is suggested for librarians to examine their own ideas about the future…

The Deputy Librarian of Congress responds to a Library Journal editorial on the Library of Congress' role in the development of the diethyl zinc process in preservation technology. Safety issues, DEZ as prototype, progress and success claims, deciding which books to save, and why DEZ should be used are explained. (EM)

Proposes that the library profession will, in the near future, divide into two tracks--the traditional librarian and the information manager. Recommendations for adapting to this change are included: (1) technological literacy; (2) career planning; (3) changes in library education; (4) accountability for information; and (5) a more positive public…

This description of a program in which public libraries serve as sites for mediation sessions discusses the advantages of mediation over judicial proceedings in resolving disputes in the neighborhood and workplace, the role of the library in this program, and the effects on the library's relationship with the community. (CLB)

Reviews the current literature to provide information on openings and recent appointments at the state librarian level around the country. The varied roles of state libraries are also described, and a brief discussion of the qualifications of a state library director is included. (21 references) (MES)

The first of two articles on the current state of relations between librarianship and new technologies describes recent events that signal an apparent drift toward a traditional vision of librarianship, and away from any emphasis on information technologies. (CLB)

The relation between library instruction and the reference function is explored, noting characteristics and aims of both functions, terminology (bibliographic instruction and library instruction), user attitudes toward library use, correlation of the two services, and purposes of both bibliographic instruction and the reference process. Sixteen…

Provides a brief history and overview of current projects in distance education and describes potential roles for the library media specialist in this area as school coordinator or information consultant. Addresses of several distance education projects are listed. (12 references) (MES)

Recent publications and articles that have received national attention focus on the problems that face higher education as well as allegations that American colleges and universities were "failing to give students an adequate general education." The critics are correct and considerable energy is being directed to returning higher…

Intended to introduce librarians to social science concepts relevant to the future of librarianship, this essay explores Birdsall's thesis that librarians belong to a special class of professions that share knowledge with their clients, and that the problems of these professions are political as well as social and economic. (EM)

Presents standards for reference services developed by the Suburban Library System (Illinois) and discusses the effects of the standards on youth services. Standards for a written reference plan, reference staff, reference sources, and evaluation are included. (11 references) (MES)

Discusses the role of the librarian in child abuse prevention, including the identification of high risk situations, provision of appropriate literature and support group information, and acting as a role model. An annotated bibliography of books for children and young adults in families at risk is provided. (8 references) (CLB)

This digest argues that free, public libraries foster and fortify democracy and democratic citizenship. Because libraries offer services and materials representing many points of view, they allow citizens to fulfill their civic and personal responsibilities and to exercise their liberties. Particularly for former communist countries, libraries can…