The relatively high use rates and program attendance highlight the public value provided by local libraries at a time of dramatic economic, technology, and demographic change. The Public Libraries in the United States Survey is one important way of examining when, where and how library services are changing to meet those needs. The data, supplied…

At the time of writing the original paper my viewpoint was a personal one, one that focussed on the status within the profession of equally qualified librarians based purely on the perceived status conferred by the type of libraries in which they worked. However, it must now be observed that the world in which public librarians operated then was…

In 2008, we started by pulling a sample of 483 public libraries from across the country, using 2007 public library annual report data. Because small libraries have different needs and resources than larger libraries, we stratified the sample to make comparisons by size, according to the following population groups: fewer than 10,000 served;…

Bill Schickling has spent a good chunk of his professional life at what is now Polaris Library Systems, shaping both the older Galaxy system and the newer Polaris integrated library system (ILS). When he joined the company as a programmer in 1987, it was still part of Gaylord, known mostly for its furniture and supplies division. Schickling was…

Librarians, like patrons and researchers, are caught between traditional library service models and the promise of evolving information technologies. In recent years, professional conferences have strategically featured programs and presentations geared toward building a mobile agenda and adapting or adopting services to meet new demands of mobile…

It's an obvious observation that librarians today find themselves dealing with collections of ever larger proportions of electronic content. The degree to which that shift has already taken place varies from one type of library to another. Some organizations, especially those involved with specializations in biomedical, scientific, or business,…

With comments from a variety of sources, this book presents fictional scenarios intended to get librarians thinking about possibilities. The book offers eight new future scenarios that explore such developments as virtual reality, robots, time travel, biotechnology, computer viruses, security, and more--all within the context of the public…

This report is an evaluation of public library service in Utah from 1990 to 2000. The introduction summarizes findings; a map of public library jurisdictions is included. The report contains sections the following sections: (1) Utah's Population; (2) Circulation and Interlibrary Loan; (3) Holdings and Subscriptions; (4) Library Staff; (5) Income…

Public and employer perceptions of staff abilities and qualifications deployed in local studies collections may affect their status and influence and not least the funding the local studies facility may receive. The need to promote the service is also prompted by the growing use of local studies collections and the increasing importance of such…

Presents results of a report on development trends in librarianship and schools of library and information science in the Neue Bundeslander of the Federal Republic of Germany. Discusses political, economic, and technical factors; cites specific changes in public, union, university, scientific, and special libraries; and reviews trends in library…

This book addresses many of the practical issues involved in developing the virtual library. Seven presentations from the Eighth Annual Computers in Libraries Conference are included in this book in augmented form. The papers are supplemented by "The Evolving Virtual Library: An Overview" (Laverna M. Saunders and Maurice Mitchell), a…

Based on annual reports from the states on project activities carried out under the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), this report provides an overview of programs authorized under Title I of LSCA over a 5-year period to support special projects at major urban resource libraries (MURLs) which operated for users on a regional basis. It…

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) integrate computer hardware, software, data, and the human mind to bring new perspectives to creative problem solving. The power of GIS is in adding a graphic, spatial dimension to problem solving. Still an emerging technology for most libraries, GIS can be expensive, entails a steep learning curve, and…