Discusses emerging organizational structures of academic libraries and identifies core competencies for academic reference librarians, including a flexible attitude and approach toward technology, a high tolerance for rapid technological change, creativity, curiosity, communication skills, public relations savvy, and the ability to relate…

Guides librarians in evaluating "filtering" software which schools may purchase for restricting access to potentially inappropriate Internet sites. This article discusses the workings of filtering programs and practical and ethical questions such as: how sites are restricted, who decides, and whether transactions are monitored.…

Describes the experiences of a school library media specialist on the school board. Topics include how to make presentations to the school board; how media centers can request extra funding; and the importance of good communication with the community and with the other board members. (LRW)

Broome Community College demonstrates how user satisfaction surveys contribute quality and accountability assessment data to their learning resources program review process and ultimately, to educational effectiveness. Appended in this article are the Library/Learning Resource Center Faculty and Staff Survey and the Student Use Survey. (VWC)

Reports on findings from a survey exploring the information literacy of physical science graduate students. Describes the students' perceptions of the physical and psychological components that enhance or detract from their ability to find, appraise, and use information and how they feel during the various stages of an information search.…

Focuses on collaboration for authentic learning. Describes an assignment that was collaboratively planned, constructed and implemented by one high school's teacher-librarian and chemistry teacher. Discusses outcomes of the assignment; assessing authenticity; higher-order thinking; depth of knowledge; and connectedness to the world beyond the…

Analyzes position announcements for academic libraries seeking business, social science, and science librarians to determine the requirements, characteristics, and qualifications for the positions. Includes salary information and comparisons, primary responsibilities, and required and preferred education and skills. Results indicate higher than…

Considers the beliefs, attitudes, and values of reference librarians. Highlights include the idea of personal assistance to someone who needs information; users' perceptions and use of information; librarianship as a profession; equitable access to information; users' information needs and goals; and nonverbal communication. (LRW)

Presents factors for librarians to consider when decision-making about information retrieval. Discusses indexing theory; thesauri aids; controlled vocabulary or thesauri to increase access; humans versus machines; automated tools; product evaluations and evaluation criteria; automated classification tools; content server products; and document…

The Southern University (Louisiana) Agricultural and Mechanical College library addressed the growing demand on its reserve collections with an Electronic Reserve Library, a World Wide Web-based system designed to convert the collection's printed material to readable electronic form. Faculty and students have benefitted from and responded…

Describes the provision of library instruction and reference services to students enrolled in distance learning courses at 73 Florida-based colleges and universities by the Florida Distance Learning Reference and Referral Center (RRC). Explains the use of chat software which allows real-time virtual reference assistance that supplements email,…

Describes how librarians at the UCLA (University of California Los Angeles) biomedical library adopted to changes in the medical school's curriculum, developed new ways to support the school's instructional goals, and provided information literacy instruction. Discusses librarian-faculty collaboration to meet the changing needs of students and…

Discusses how school nurses and school library media specialists can work together to help adolescents cope with chronic illnesses. Topics include educating other students; Web sites devoted to illness and youth; keeping material on the shelves up-to-date; and affective aspects that can be addresses in literature. (LRW)

Explains how librarians can develop a plan to anticipate the needs of teachers in the area of curriculum development, based on a study at a private special education K-12 school in Texas. Highlights include data gathering, including focus groups and questionnaires; and planning recommendations. (LRW)

For the past ten years law students, academics and legal practitioners have relied on AustLII and various internet search engines to conduct legal research. The purpose of this article is to examine what these can offer and to note the importance of other websites when conducting legal research. This article is based on an address given to the…