This study examines children's uses of reading resources in neighborhood public libraries that have been transformed to "level the playing field." Through foundation funding (US$20 million), the public library system of Philadelphia converted neighborhood branch libraries into a technologized modern urban library system, hoping to…

The lack of proximity to large information centers combined with limited budgets, resources, and expertise prompted the special libraries of Berks County, Pennsylvania, to attempt a network for interlibrary sharing. Information specialists from large an small industrial, medical, and public resource centers organized and operated a network of…

In attempting to reappraise the role of Pennsylvania district center libraries, this field study focused on: the actual use made of the libraries, the effects of distance on use, and the relationship between use and the socioeconomic characteristics of library users. Methodology involved the study of 10 representative district library centers,…

This manual is designed to provide information to interlibrary loan (ILL) practitioners about the philosophy behind interlibrary loan, as well as a functional knowledge of its routines. The first part of the manual presents general and background material about interlibrary loans. Included in this section are a glossary of library terms, the…

This study analyzes the impact of library services in five medium-sized communities with differing geographic, economic, and social characteristics and determines the place of the public library within the pattern of city governmental services. Methods used for the study include interviews with community leaders, library trustees, librarians, and…

Describes a study that examined the impact of federated library systems on member library services, resources, and operations in Pennsylvania. The discussion includes a rationale for the research methodology used, and comments on the absence of reliable library statistics and published reports as a basis for comparison with pre-systems situations.…

The Pennsylvania Master Plan Committee, composed of librarians from all types of libraries and also of other interested citizens, reports here on goals, present status, and recommendations for the future of Pennsylvania libraries. After statements of need for a master plan and an outline of its development, goals for effective, widely available…

Three articles discuss (1) networking of school and public libraries in Grosse Pointe, Michigan; (2) the Access Pennsylvania project that provides a CD-ROM union catalog of high school, public, academic, and special library collections in Pennsylvania; and (3) teaching online searching with Dialog's Classmate service in a high school library. (MES)

Prepared for distribution to participants in the Pennsylvania Governor's Forums on Library and Information Services, this booklet contains the following items: letters of welcome from Governor Robert Casey and Barbara Bruno, Chair of the Steering Committee; an agenda; and descriptions of Pennsylvania's libraries, its statewide library service, and…

Several trends have come together to intensify interest in how public libraries might best support the interests and needs of youth in their communities. This study reports on findings from the Public Libraries as Partners in Youth Development (PLPYD) Initiative, a four-year, nine-site initiative funded by the Wallace Foundation to develop…