The publication in 2015 of new international school library guidelines was the culmination of a two-year process involving a wide network of contributors. The process was guided by the Joint Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) School Libraries Section and the International Association of School Librarianship…

Reading4Life @ your library[R] (R4L) significantly extends the role of school librarians in the areas of classroom-library collaboration, reading instruction during the inquiry process, and evidence-based practice. With this position paper, AASL clearly places a greater value than it has in the past on the instructional partnership role of the…

Libraries throughout the world are increasingly involved in the production of scholarly publications. Much of this has been thanks to the growth of open access (OA) publishing in all its forms, from peer-reviewed "gold" journals to "green" self-archiving, and electronic theses and dissertation (ETD) repositories. As a result, more and more of the…

The Digital Britain White Paper outlines the Government's vision for the digital future of the country. In this article a number of industry experts, stakeholders, politicians and commentators tell how they viewed the report and its likely repercussions.

In this article, the author discusses her personal experience of coming up with a mission statement for her library. A significant part of that goal was to identify what a best-practice library looked like so that she could emulate the model in her library. The entire process is described in this article.

Prepared for the members and staff of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), this report responds to the April 1985 charge to the White House Conference on Library and Information Services Preliminary Design Group to: (1) make recommendations on the kinds of appointments which should be made by the President, Senate,…

Jose Vasconcelos (1882-1959), a major figure of modern Mexican education, also was instrumental in the development of the field of librarianship in Mexico. This research paper presents Vasconcelos' philosophy of librarianship through a detailed study of his writings and a review of major secondary sources. Relying solely on the subjective…

This Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit, an update of a 1975 kit, considers trends in the development and use of goals and objectives statements in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions, as illustrated in documents received in response to an August 1979 SPEC survey. The kit comprises: documents on developing…

Arguing that complaints are inevitable and that complaint handling should be an integral part of the library's public service program, this paper identifies and discusses the components of such a program. Concerns discussed are those that should be of general interest to all types of libraries, and the primary focus is on external complaints,…

The results of a 2-year study on the interactions between government and private sector information activities are presented in terms of principles and guidelines for federal policy to support the development and use of information resources, products, and services, and to implement the principles. Discussions address sources of conflict between…

These remarks suggest that, although the world's cultures--and the culture of books--may be defined by languages, by traditions, and by historical movements, they are not confined by national boundaries: all boundaries in the world of culture and ideas are artificial and all are doomed to be dissolved. Since all culture belongs to all people,…

This collection of statements of goals and objectives from member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) contains: (1) sections from management review and analysis program reports from the University of Washington Libraries and the University of Rochester Library; (2) a detailed organization description from the Columbia…

Through a comparison of the historical perspectives of medieval and modern libraries, this paper is designed to clarify the purpose and goals of the library, and to promote a public and intellectual debate to guide future developments. The Middle Ages were chosen because libraries possessed an importance and centrality to learning, civilization,…

As suggested by a Colorado Academic Library Master Plan developed in 1982, a statewide conference that brought together academicians and librarians was held to explore the role of academic libraries in the information society. People came in teams of three from institutions and included library directors, academic vice presidents, and faculty…

Specific circulation desk procedures and policies which student assistants helped to create and for which they are responsible are listed. A checklist for students to use in assessing their skills and knowledge of procedures and locations is provided, as well as a list of 30 questions frequently asked by library patrons; answers are included.…