Discusses why print library collections are still important and will not be replaced by digital forms of information. Topics include technological improvement; reading from digital devices; universal conversion of library materials from print to digital form; digital communications; publishers and rights; data, information, and knowledge; and…

The Dewey Decimal Classification was not fulfilling genealogical researchers' needs, who search for ancestors by place (not subject). A new system that was developed at Rowan Public Library (Salisbury, North Carolina) is described. Also given are suggested additions to the Library of Congress Subject Headings to provide geographic orientation.…

One of the benefits of 1996 Telecommunications Act is a federal program nicknamed "E-Rate," which discounts the cost of providing Internet connections to schools and libraries. This article provides an overview of the program, describes the application process, and suggests how to maximize E-Rate. Answers common questions about E-Rate…

Marking the 25th anniversary (August 26, 1996) of WorldCat (the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Online Union Catalog) OCLC and the U.S. regional networks sponsored an essay contest for librarians and library users to write essays describing their impressions of the OCLC Online Union Catalog. Four prize-winning essays from Michigan, Kentucky,…

Argues that current library and information science discourse has drawn definitional boundaries around the word "information" so tightly as to exclude research on reading. Highlights include access to, versus content of, information; literacy studies; print culture history; reader-response theory; ethnography of reading; cultural…

Introduces the Perseus Digital Library. The texts, maps, timelines, and other tools of the Perseus Digital Library can help students learn about Classical languages and classical culture. All the tools work together, and reference to other relevant information is offered automatically along with each page of text. (Author/VWL)

Investigates ways in which people group or categorize documents associated with a voluminous work to guide the construction of organized displays for information retrieval systems. Discusses results of cluster analyses based on "A Christmas Carol" (Charles Dickens) and suggests implications for metadata standards and digital libraries as…

Examines the Korean National Open University's (KNOU) four recent technology initiatives for distance education, including an online database and multimedia digital library, an integrated Web-based student support system, a videoconferencing network, and Web-based course. Suggests that it is instructional design, not technology, which is at the…

Discusses recommendations for designing or redesigning library buildings for easy navigability. Signage, maps, collection arrangements, and placement of emergency exits must take into account observed traffic patterns, spatial or objective orientations of individual patrons, and patrons with disabilities. Contains 63 references. (BEW)

In light of the compliance requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, this article explains adaptive computing technology and its use in the design of a new implementation of ORION, the online information system at the University of California Los Angeles. Addresses, both postal and electronic when possible, are provided for several…

Provides an overview of information policy, including its importance, its key instruments, and its complexity. Information policy issues that may create new roles for libraries include the ramifications of the public's right to information, the organization and retrieval of electronically networked information, information literacy training,…

A key to successful implementation of a World Wide Web-based library information system is effective collaboration between campus library and information technology professionals, representing a long-term commitment to breakdown of organizational barriers, individual empowerment, and shared vision. The Web sites designed by Indiana…

Discussion of teamwork skills in library and information work outlines the objectives and components of a team-building program and assessed team project which are undertaken in the final year of the bachelor's degree program in Information Studies at Leeds Metropolitan University (United Kingdom). Results of an evaluative questionnaire are…

Describes a study that compared performance differences (perceived, actual, and temporal) for a strategic business information acquisition experimental task when subjects used a library versus using the Internet. It was found that task performance decreased and time to completion increased when using the Internet. (Author/LRW)

Presents ideas for activities in an elementary school library in collaboration with classroom teachers that introduce students to biographies. Includes book talks, an activity involving food that represents various aspects of information included in biographies, and a list of 20 one-session read-aloud picture book biographies for grades two…