In the past decade, cataloguing and classification and information literacy have experienced a critical turn, acknowledging the political, economic, and social forces that shape complex information environments. Library user experience (UX) has yet to undergo such a transformation, however; instead, it continues to be seen as a toolkit of…

Information literacy is a crucial topic in the library science profession. The information needs and perceptions of the information literacy of preservice and early-career school librarians were explored in this research using a survey and interviews distributed nationally over a 5-month time frame. These participants, who have been employed in…

This article explores recent developments in national policy for academic libraries. It considers the shift from traditional to managerial academic librarianship; the move to "social space" and multi-use systems; changes in the balance between meeting teaching and research needs and in public funding priorities; the difficulty of making…

This issue of "Research Library Issues" includes the following articles: (1) The University's Role in the Dissemination of Research and Scholarship--A Call to Action; (2) ARL Statement to Scholarly Publishers on the Global Economic Crisis (Karla Hahn); (3) Reinventing Science Librarianship: Themes from the ARL-CNI Forum (Elisabeth Jones); and (4)…

This paper traces librarianship's notions of intellectual freedom to a widely analyzed concept in law and political science known as the marketplace of ideas. A stewardship orientation in librarianship is described, changes in the profession are examined, emotional factors and democratic values are discussed, and self-actualization is considered.…

This look at changes in young adult literature and librarianship over the past 10 years discusses young adult librarianship in 1978; the development in 1978 of the "Young Adult Perplex" column reviewing adolescent literature; sex education; feminism; intellectual freedom; different perspectives of the column; and the current status of the field.…

Occasional Papers deal with varied aspects of librarianship and consist of papers that generally are too long or too detailed for publication in a periodical, or are of specialized or contemporary interest. This latest volume in the Occasional Paper series reviews the changing and cumulative institutional functions of libraries in Western…

Analyzes 595 articles in 21 core library instruction journals published between 1977 and 1991 to test the theory that the number of research studies in bibliographic instruction is increasing. Research articles were classed by research method employed, subject studied, and library type. Results showed that the number of research articles increased…

Argues that differing career aspirations among academic librarians may be addressed through a two-track system: one track for occupational librarians, who choose not to pursue higher career goals; and the second for professional librarians who continue to pursue their education and take on greater responsibilities. (EA)

The South African experience illustrates the developmental role that information services can play in the change process. Resource centers can empower people by providing access to information. The library and information science profession is facing challenges in formation of information policy in the postapartheid state. (SK)

The author argues that the profession of librarianship is in crisis. She seeks to identify the characteristics and analyse the qualities of this phenomenon in order to draw conclusions about future trends and directions for the profession. It is argued that this crisis is an outward sign of a deeper transformation which is taking place and which…

Discusses ideas and concerns about educating people for information field of future, covering change pressures in United States (developments in information technology), response to pressure by library schools, and library school role in information age (user/organizational information needs assessment, organization and retrieval of information,…

This discussion of the role of librarians past, present, and future notes job responsibilities; effects of technological changes (online public catalog, electronic publishing, distributed processing, private sector); the role of catalogers; cooperative cataloging; new recruits for library schools; expectations for newly recruited professional…

This article employs a citation-tracking method for gathering and reviewing literature of academic librarianship. Each work discussed either cites the work of F.W. Lancaster, an early predictor and enthusiast of "paperless information systems," or another that cites it. The aim is to provide an analytical overview on how academic librarians saw…

To meet user needs, the founders of a digital research library (DRL) must establish the repository of electronic scholarly materials and implement tools to use it; organizational, fiscal, and institutional commitments must be made. The establishment of DRLs is directly related to the changes taking place in the library profession. (Author/AEF)