Mzuzu University Library provides various e-library services to postgraduate students. However, a minimal amount is known regarding the use of these e-library services by postgraduate students. This mixed methods quantitative study aimed to investigate postgraduate students' use of e-library services. The findings reveal that 95% of postgraduate…

This paper describes efforts at the University of Arizona Libraries (UAL) in Tucson to improve access to the Internet and technology during the COVID-19 pandemic and as the libraries continue to adapt to hybrid instructional modalities. The authors highlight how their institution leveraged campus data and new partnerships to better meet students'…

This issue of "Research Library Issues" ("RLI") presents an introduction article and two companion articles, which highlight Net Neutrality. The introduction article, "Why Net Neutrality Matters and What Research Libraries Can Do about It" (Mary Lee Kennedy), explains that the fundamental intent of the open internet…

In the fall and winter of 2020, New America embarked on a snapshot study to gather data on how--or if--people were discovering, accessing, and using their public libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on materials that libraries made available online. Our findings, which include data from a national survey of 2,620 people, highlight…

In many of the New York City neighborhoods hit hardest by the pandemic, libraries are among the only trusted resources for immigrants, teens, older adults, and those on the wrong side of the digital divide. For example, in 64 percent of the city's neighborhoods, branch libraries are the sole public hub for career services and support for…

The impacts of the Internet on library services and information usage since the advent of the World Wide Web have been significant, changing patron expectations for libraries, the ways in which libraries can reach patrons, the amount of information available, the job requirements of librarians, and the roles that libraries can play in their…

In the last two decades, fundamental changes in information distribution, in the general economy, and in the behaviors of faculty, students, and library staff have problematized the question of an academic library's value and how it can be measured. This article reviews those changes and, drawing on research linked to the Collegiate Learning…

As more and more New Yorkers turn to digital books, Wikipedia and other online tools for information and entertainment, there is a growing sense that the age of the public library is over. But, in reality, New York City's public libraries are more essential than ever. Far from becoming obsolete, the city's three public library systems--Brooklyn,…

In the not too distant past, libraries kept a vertical file of printed materials that typically consisted of newspaper and magazine clippings, pamphlets, brochures, maps, photographs, and sundry whatnots. Most, if not all, of these materials were irregularly published or they were not published in any official manner. They were seen as incidental…

One of the most exciting developments to occur within the library profession in recent years has been the re-evaluation of library's role in resource discovery in the web environment. This has involved recognition of short-comings of online library catalogues, a re-affirmation of the importance of metadata and a new focus on the wealth of…

Libraries have traditionally tended to be one of the few institutionally provided public resources for local residents in poor, urban, neighborhoods. This paper presents findings from the exploratory phase of an ongoing research project which examines, through participant observation, the "value" of a public library in a poor urban neighborhood.…

Public libraries have evolved into a primary source of Internet access in many communities, generating wide-ranging impacts in the communities that public libraries serve. Based on the findings of the 2007 Public Libraries and the Internet study, this article examines the ways in which the Internet access delivered by public libraries affects…

This paper will address how the digital divide affects distance education. Lack of access for some students does raise concerns. Access to technology is often defined by what students don't have: what is called a digital divide. Access also is defined by the speed of Internet connections. Access in the future will be even greater as more computers…

As the use of the Internet and time spent on the Internet by individuals grows, and the use of virtual worlds like Active Worlds and Second Life increases, the library needs to have an interactive place and role in these worlds as well as a bricks and mortar space. This article provides an overview of what some libraries are doing in these worlds,…

Public libraries were indispensable resources for newcomers during the height of European immigration to the United States. They were havens for the poor and jobless during the Great Depression and bridges between rural and urban communities during times of major demographic change. An increase in the Spanish-speaking population has inspired…