This revision of Standards for College Libraries, which was prepared by Association of College and Research Libraries' Ad Hoc College Library Standards Committee, includes an introduction to standards; objectives; collections (print, audiovisual, resource sharing, determination of grade); organization of materials; staff; service; facilities;…

This publication presents library contact information and statistics for Alabama public libraries for fiscal year 1996 (October 1, 1995-September 30, 1996). The library directory is arranged by type of library: public libraries, single-county public library systems, multi-county public library systems, and multitype library systems. Entries…

This report contains data on state library agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia for state fiscal year 1996. The data were collected through the State Library Agencies (STLA) Survey, the product of a cooperative effort between the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, the United States National Commission on Libraries and…

San Jacinto College's Central Campus developed a 4-year plan to bring the library's technology, college, and facilities to a level equal to libraries of other Texas Community Colleges. The first major goal for the library is to select and deliver information that students and faculty need at the time of need, thereby redefining library resources…

This SPEC Kit and Flyer focus on the gifts and exchange function in Association of Research (ARL) libraries. The survey was sent to 119 ARL institutions via e-mail; 62 usable replies were received. Results, discussed in the SPEC Flyer, highlight trends and effects of changes in library automation, staffing decreases, administrative reorganization,…

Notes developments over the past decade in Canadian library standards for public libraries, university and college libraries, school libraries, special libraries, national libraries, cooperation among libraries, and standardization in educational programs for library personnel. Forty-eight references are provided. (EJS)

This article analyzes a textbook collection project that spanned three semesters at the University of Minnesota. The project consisted of collecting extra copies from professors in several departments and placing the items on reserves for short term circulation; there was a small amount of money dedicated to the project. An analysis of circulation…

This article reports the results from a national survey of experiences in postsecondary education of students with visual impairments in gaining access to textbooks. Participants were members of listserves sponsored by the student affiliates of the American Council of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind. While the majority of…

This article discusses the importance of designing a library media center that engages students in constructing new knowledge. The author describes the planning stages of a new library facility. In the early planning stages, the author focused on the expectations of the administration. She soon realized that they had included all the…

As America entered the information age, libraries were no longer being pictured as a vital part of family life. Instead, technology became the critical resource for a middle-class family. In addition, state and national accountability and assessment initiatives forced school library media specialists (SLMSs) to demonstrate that the school library…

While the need for a data retention policy is rapidly becoming clear to schools, little guidance is available for crafting one. Most schools depend on backup and recovery plans that generally focus on individual servers or devices. However, retention policies also need to focus on the type of data contained on those servers and how it will be…

Promoting services is a conundrum for any organization. This is especially true for an academic library promoting distance library services. Systems thinking, process mapping, team learning, and diffusion of information practices offer ways of thinking about promoting services that help those involved find novel ways to approach promoting distance…

As blogging software has grown increasingly user-friendly, many libraries are employing blogs to make their web presence as inviting and interactive as their bricks-and-mortar counterpart. Libraries are reaping the rewards, too: well-written, frequently updated public blogs help librarians relate to their patrons, generate support for new building…

Studies suggest that co-authorship results in a higher quality article. This study looks for evidence of this in the literature of academic librarianship. Using citation counts to articles from two important journals over a ten-year period, no evidence is found to support the superiority of co-authored articles.

Pipes is an interactive data aggregator and manipulator that lets you mashup your favorite online data sources. Pipes could be used to "combine many feeds into one, then sort, filter and translate to create your ultimate custom feed. In this article, the author describes how to use Yahoo! Pipes. The author shares what she has learned in…