Explores the idea that written family stories are akin to folk objects and suggests that folklore is a powerful medium for transmitting information and should be incorporated more fully into the curricula of schools of library and information science. Presents personal narratives and reminiscences from the author's interviews with family members.…

Discussion of free speech on the Internet focuses on three basic options open to schools trying to resolve the dilemma of protecting children while preserving intellectual freedom: commercial censorware, blocking, and filtering. Concludes that adult supervision is still the most effective means of regulating access to the Internet. (LRW)

Describes collection-development strategies for use in the identification, evaluation, and selection of numeric-data resources. Addresses three primary issues: the delineation of collecting scope and organizational role; the identification of potentially relevant data resources; and the evaluation of those resources in accordance with objective,…

Discusses the development of strategies for providing access to and services for U.S. federal government information in higher education using the global information infrastructure, from the perspective of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI). Discusses the preservation of electronic information and networked information discovery and…

Discusses how to schedule library use in conjunction with block scheduling. Highlights include the need for flexible scheduling, collaborating with teachers for long-range planning for library use, and a model schedule for library use coordinated with class activities. (LRW)

Discusses an activity called "The Dating Game" that is based on Willa Cather's "My Antonia." Explains that students determine the year Jim Burden, one of the main characters, arrived in Nebraska, using historical events in the novel. Reports students learn about life in the plains and national events and trends in the 1880s.…

Reviews library news for 1997. Highlights public library budgets, examined by number of patrons served; Internet filters and censorship; librarians and the media; private and government funding sources; outsourcing; expectations for growth in the publishing industry, emphasizing the Asian economic crisis; and new ideas from the next generation of…

Challenging the common image of reading as a solitary activity, this article describes the social settings in which young people participated in the print culture of a late 19th-century small midwestern town. Analysis of library borrowing records shows that both adults and youth read "low" fiction, shared titles, and engaged in a common culture,…

Discusses the E-Rate, a program from the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that offers a discounted rate to schools and libraries wanting to connect to the Internet. Topics include changes in school district planning practices; the effects of politics, administrative priorities, and community concerns; and technology planning and integration. (LRW)

Describes methods for developing and delivering library instruction in an electronic format. Discusses using a customized Web site as a backup for live instruction; creating a computer-generated slide presentation to accompany a live lecture or to be placed on the Web; writing a self-paced Web tutorial; and developing a complete online library…

Describes changes in many library schools' curricula to emphasize training for high-tech careers in information management rather than traditional library skills and careers. Reports on the experience of the University of Michigan, which has restructured its library school into the new School of Information Management and Systems. (DB)

Presents annotated bibliographies of a selection of recent scholarly and general reference works under the subject headings of publishing, periodical indexes, philosophy and religion, literature, music, art, photography, social sciences, business, history, and new editions. (LRW)

Discussion of how media specialists can help students deal with change and learn to collaborate focuses on Standard Nine from "Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning" from "Information Power". Highlights include modeling; change management; making change personal; and culture and community. (LRW)

Describes the information environment at the University of Minnesota at the beginning of the Integrated Information Center (IIC) project, including the academic units served by the IIC, the proposed design of the IIC, organizational structure of the IIC, the IIC staff, and project organization. (JAK)

Because the media emphasize how females look rather than what they do, it is important for children to encounter strong girls in the books they read. This article provides an annotated bibliography of picture books for primary grade children in which African and African-American girls exhibit admirable traits. Suggests class activities in art and…