Better information about how investments in education are influencing outcomes for students, schools, and districts is needed. The growing hunger for using financial data to answer more and evolving questions will require changes in systems, policy, practice, and culture. The problem at hand is that both people and systems have limited capacity to…

Libraries of government departments provide information to policymakers, to government staff and employees, and, sometimes, to the general public. It is essential that libraries of government departments are organised and managed so as to collect and provide the information most needed by government decision makers, government workers, and the…

A new superintendent established an equal access to information policy with board members by answering questions submitted by individual board members and then sending the questions and answers to all board members--without identifying who asked the question. (MLF)

A national survey was conducted as part of the development of a planned information center on deafness at Gallaudet College. The survey examined information needs and services relating to hearing impairment, including areas of greatest information need and the possibility of liaison and exchanges with other organizations developing and…

This review of the positive and negative impact of centralization of library collections and services on library staff and quality of services focuses on reference services. The move from decentralized to centralized library services at Louisiana State University is discussed as well as the effect of automation on that configuration. (Author/CLB)

Infrastructures and competitiveness are considered in the context of library networking, library service, and economic development in the state of North Carolina. The North Carolina Information Network, a network developed and maintained by the state library and responsive to the needs of the nonlibrary community, is described. (MES)

This article identifies potential users of disability-related information, lists categories of information need, considers information management at the national and local levels, offers an eight-step series of questions to guide in the provision of information services, and discusses sources of funding. (DB)

This report describes a study designed to improve the interlibrary loan service offered by the I. D. Weeks Library at the University of South Dakota (USD); the study which examined both the actual time elapsed in filling interlibrary loan requests and the causes for delays. An introduction to the problem is provided; the library staffing and…

Public libraries must operate in a time of increasing change, both within the library community and throughout the larger social and economic environments in which the library must function. This book is a guide to the strategic management of change in community libraries. It addresses the unique circumstances and needs of public libraries and…

This study examines the conceptual and theoretical issues arising from the planned redesign of ERIC (the Educational Resources Information Center) and its potential new roles in the dissemination system. A three-level definition of the ERIC system is provided; the goal of making ERIC a comprehensive dissemination program is refined to one of…

Reviews the increased importance of bibliographic instruction in libraries of all types and addresses the question of whether librarians are adequately trained to teach library patrons. The responsibility of library schools to provide training for bibliographic instruction is discussed. (CLB)

Several reference librarians respond to the Hernon and McClure study on the accuracy of library reference services. Highlights include problems with the methodology used (unobtrusive observation), and performance factors not addressed by the study. Comments by Hernon and McClure address these responses and ways to improve reference services are…

Academic libraries should follow the practice adopted by some academic institutions during recent periods of economic scarcity and develop economic and political ties with the business community, a partnership that could provide genuine benefits for members of the business community, elected officials, and academia. An example of such cooperation…

This report documents a study undertaken to determine the feasibility of and need for an information desk at the Kent State University (KSU) Library. Study methodology included gathering information through a review of the literature and a telephone survey of six academic libraries in Ohio comparable in size and holdings to KSU in order to develop…

This paper addresses the very timely issue of national information policy, particularly in view of the pending second White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services in July 1991. Information policy is examined from economic, political, and social points of view and the national government is urged to address the challenging task of…