The "Nonbook Materials Core Collection" is one of H. W. Wilson's new subscription-based electronic core collection development databases. It is a new addition to the five-volume core collection series formerly known as the "Standard Catalog Series." Other titles in this series have long been staples of collection development resources for both…

Whether a school library program is the picture of good health in a state that mandates a professionally staffed library media center in every building or is suffering in a low-wealth district that is facing drastic cuts, the recently launched toolkits by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) are stocked with useful strategies and…

Can it be only two years, as Alan Jay Lerner once wrote, "since the whole [economic] rigmarole began"? Yet libraries have weathered to varying degrees the unreliability of funding, especially with regard to programming, materials, and hours. Money earmarked years ago is seeing construction through to conclusion; state support has helped out in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show how libraries in New Zealand have developed their digital strategies in order to serve its citizens, the country and the world. Design/methodology/approach: A description of various New Zealand initiatives is given, many of which involve the National Library of New Zealand. Findings: The four…

There is no doubt among the staff and managers at North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries, Raleigh, that advanced library technician Tina Adams deserves to be the winner of the "Library Journal's "Paraprofessional of the Year Award for 2009." "Certainly this library has never seen anyone like her before, not in my nine…

Rural schools in high-poverty areas are often understaffed. This descriptive phenomenological study examined fourth-grade state research projects in high-poverty rural Iowa schools to reveal the influence of school librarians' staffing levels on student learning of research skills. To determine evidence of students' critical literacy, ethical use…

In 2002, plans to merge Penn State's Physical Sciences Library and Mathematics Library provoked a controversy in the Eberly College of Science over the size of the library needed to support its departments. The College contended that a physical collection no more than 5 years old was adequate. A study of astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, physics,…

Western Illinois University Libraries has cut online serials subscriptions in the past 2 years. The librarians were guided by the statistics for downloads provided by the publishers of the journals. However, questions were raised by both professors and librarians regarding the exact meaning of the statistics. This caused the electronic resources…

Information literacy instruction is provided in five formats: reference, one-shot sessions, credit courses, library Web sites, and embedded librarians. Each method offers distinct merits as well as limitations. Much can be gained by considering the swirl or interplay of all five and how working with one approach informs the others and results in a…

Email and chat/IM reference services have become a convenient and easily accessible option for the online community and libraries, particularly with increasing amounts of library resources now available electronically. This article gives an overview of Jing, which can be used to produce videos and screenshots on-the-fly, and demonstrates how to…

This report marks the third release of library statistics data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). It contains data on state library agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia for state fiscal year (FY) 2008. The data were collected through the State Library Agencies (StLA) Survey, the product of a cooperative…

The library landscape is changing at a fast pace, with an increase in the demand for study space including quiet, individualized study space; open group study space; and as enclosed group study space. In large academic libraries, managing limited high-demand resources is crucial and is partially being driven by the greater emphasis on group…

In this fully updated revision, expert instructor and librarian Peggy Johnson addresses the art in controlling and updating your library's collection. Each chapter offers complete coverage of one aspect of collection development, including suggestions for further reading and a narrative case study exploring the issue. Johnson also integrates…

This paper reports on a questionnaire survey of 16 national libraries designed to clarify how national libraries attempt to justify their web archiving activities. Results indicate they envisage that a) the benefits brought about by their initiatives are greater than the overall costs, b) the costs imposed on libraries are greater than the costs…

This paper takes a theoretical and practical approach in defining the "problem" of homelessness in libraries. The author examines three fundamental problems on homelessness. The three fundamental questions are: (a) Who are the homeless? (b) Why are they homeless? (c) What are their information needs in libraries? These questions are important in…