Examines how various public libraries in the Chicago area approach the issue of whether or not to allow coffee and food in the library. Discusses competition with "glossy new" bookstores; research, marketing, and experiments using bookstores as models; and the development of public lounges/coffee shops which are separate from the rest of…

This article uses a feminist standpoint to examine the beginnings of library service to children in this country and the women instrumental in designing that service. It also examines the complex institutional and interpersonal relationships among these female librarians and the women who founded children's publishing. Contains 128 references.…

Examines the interconnected careers of four women of New England origin, Caroline Hewins, Anne Carroll Moore, Alice Jordan, and Bertha Mahony, for their individual accomplishments and their collective influence in developing the fields of library service to children and children's literature. Topics include literary criticism, writing, leadership…

Recognizing that the Netherlands is a multicultural society and prisoners from other cultures are especially isolated, the Dutch prison library service attempts to provide materials in different languages. A network of centers of support responsible for specific languages and a computerized catalog help prison libraries serve varied prisoner…

Includes reports from the National Endowment for the Humanities, discussing grants, federal-state partnerships, and a directory of state humanities councils; and from the Institute of Museum and Library Services Library Programs, including state-administered programs, funding, national leadership grant awards, Native American grants, and national…

Conducted a reliability generalization meta-analysis of subscale and total scale scores on the Web-administered LibQUAL+ (tm) (Cook and others, 2002), a measure of library service quality. Data for 18,161 participants from 43 universities show that score reliabilities are remarkably invariant across campuses and different over groups. (SLD)

Discusses the need for effective library service to people with disabilities and focuses on the need to train users, based on experiences at the Special Needs Center of the Phoenix (Arizona) Public Library. Highlights include training rewards; librarians as trainers; and needs assessment through interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, and task…

Examines the potential threat of malpractice litigation against librarians involved in the reference process. Topics include the relationship between the librarian and the user, the level of service, expectations placed on the information provider, and legal precedents in information delivery. (Author/LRW)

Discusses how librarians can evaluate information obtained from the World Wide Web. Sources of reviews are described, explanations for 22 evaluation criteria along with an example are included, and the future of Web evaluation is considered. (LRW)

Although cataloging, document delivery, inventory, barcoding, and other technical jobs might more effectively be done by outside contractors, managing a library and serving patrons demands the attention of information professionals. Discusses the shortcomings of outsourcing, focusing on companies and associations that outsource the entire…

Describes the Greensboro (North Carolina) Public Library's "Community of Readers," a network of community representatives who provide strategic planning for literacy services and act as advocates for literacy students. Also highlights the "Literacy in Libraries Across America" project as well as 13 public libraries in four…

Traditional output measures for library services do not address the use of electronic resources and services, and national efforts to formulate such measures have failed. Describes the efforts of the Federal State Cooperative System for Public Library Data to identify output measures and the merits of various measures for local use of electronic…

Examines information policy in Singapore and compares some aspects of it with Australia. Discusses developments in Singapore since the publication of the "Library 2000" report in 1994 and public library services. Concludes that Australia is set to become an underdeveloped nation in Asian information policy terms. (Author/LRW)

While revised ethical codes provide helpful guidelines, reference archivists face many ethical questions raised by rapidly evolving technology, changing expectations, and inconsistent privacy laws that have no clear answers. Discusses issues related to reference searching, codification of ethics, cultural property and the responsibility of…

Includes seven articles that focus on how teens can benefit from and contribute to libraries, both school and public. Highlights include improvement in Philadelphia school libraries; public library youth advisory committees; teen library board members in public libraries; teen councils in public libraries; and a list of teen library group Web…