This paper presents a summary of the first survey of public library authorities in the UK to explore Sunday opening, undertaken in 2007 as part of the Clore Leadership Programme. It provides a snapshot of Sunday opening practice, set against a context of societal, economic, and policy developments, and examines whether Sunday opening furthers the…

The purpose of this study was to explore the current state of information literacy (IL) training and to identify the strategies and methods used by Canadian public libraries in improving IL skills for their staff and patrons. Also, the study sought to identify problems associated with the development of IL training. This study employed document…

Public libraries in Europe have supported lifelong learning for the past 500 years. Since the Lisbon Strategy emphasized the role of lifelong learning in economic policy, public libraries have been repositioning their services to respond to this new context. In some cases, these roles are undertaken with limited legislative or strategic changes…

First offered to public libraries in 2004, downloadable audiobooks have grown by leaps and bounds. According to the Audio Publishers Association, their sales today account for 21% of the spoken-word audio market. It hasn't been easy, however. WMA. DRM. MP3. AAC. File extensions small on letters but very big on consequences for librarians,…

This paper is an author-edited transcript of a presentation to the ALIA Public Libraries Summit, Canberra, July 2009. The author starts off by talking about what people know about children, early reading and a literate Australia. He then discusses three main reasons why public libraries have had success in children's literacy and related programs,…

The nature of learning in a public library is relevant to what place e-learning and social networking technologies might have there. That a public library aims to provide something for everyone is also important. Alice Springs Public Library (ASPL) is a place of learning; it is also a crowded and composite space. The use ASPL could make of the…

The aim of this research was to investigate current issues faced by public library staff in rural South Australia and to examine some of the reasons why people choose to work in rural libraries. The study took a mixed methods approach, combining interviews and questionnaires to gain a fuller understanding of the issues and experiences of rural…

There has been much talk about libraries, including public libraries, being uniquely positioned to act as key agents for developing the critical skill of information literacy in their communities. Yet there is a notable lack of literature addressing information literacy and the public library, especially when compared to the volume of material on…

Recovery of significant achievements by exemplary individuals and institutions in public education and librarianship informs our present understanding and motivates future efforts. This narrative history recounts some of the struggles and successes of a great city library when the very conception of a free, public library was still being defined.…

A review of the development of the United Kingdom obsession with "value for money", and the performance indicators that have led to the current "best value" approach that is working through the public sector in the United Kingdom. I hope to identify the values and problems with the approach offering a salutary warning to those…

Reports the success rates of reference question answering as perceived by librarians and patrons in 36 public libraries. The discussion covers relationships between question answering success rates and factors such as time and effort spent on questions, reference resources and environment, communication difficulties, and type and source of…

This study used a sampling of empirical data from public libraries to examine organizational characteristics (i.e., specialization, horizontal differentiation, vertical differentiation, professionalism, administrative intensity, organizational slack, and organizational size) and performance levels of three groups of organizations delineated…

Using examples from public libraries and community parks and recreation, the author argues that increased emphasis on relevant performance comparisons with other local governments and appropriate standards could capture public attention and encourage greater accountability. (SK)

Summarizes 20 statements on the tying of state aid to performance measures which were presented at the 1989 Spring Conference of the New Jersey Library Association. The discussion covers the need to derive a formula for the award of aid, and the complexity and difficulties involved in deriving any such formula. (18 references) (CLB)

Using the London Room of the London Public Library in London, Ontario, Canada, as an example, this article will examine the nature of local collections, the sources and methods of acquiring genealogical and local history materials and the constraints related to such acquisitions. This article will also present a brief history of the London Room…