Discusses a Canadian public library's outreach program, whose objective was to connect with those families who were unable to access the library. Highlights include: the value of partnerships; funding and sponsorships; the visiting library for children; recruitment and training of volunteers; gift books for children; story boxes; community book…

Discusses the Los Angeles Public Library's TeenS'cape, located in the middle of the city's Central Library. This technically sophisticated library space, opened after the 1992 L.A. riots, provides custom furnishings, postmodernist architecture, and equipment and materials specifically catered to the local teens, amid the culture of…

Describes the process used by one public library to update their policy on children's Internet use. Topics include forming a committee with as many stakeholders as possible; community involvement and support; balancing library values and community needs; and giving parents the responsibility to choose filtered Internet access or open access. (LRW)

Describes the development of an International School Library Day and discusses activities in Australian school libraries. Highlights include the development of Web pages; sponsorship by national, state, or provincial associations; publicity materials; joint activities with other countries; student involvement; and activities with public libraries.…

Discusses the value of partnerships between libraries and other organizations, based on successful experiences at the Chicago Public Library. Topics include perceptions of public libraries; extending outreach programs; staff member potential; library mission statement; partner motivation; providing services to respond to community needs; and…

Examines the effects of students' access to print via a community library. Compares knowledge of authors, words, books, and magazines between the students who accessed the community library and students who used the school library. Indicates that the students who visited community libraries outperformed students who did not. (SG)

Addresses the problem of crime committed in a library by its employees. Provides examples of crimes in state and public libraries. Discusses embezzlement in a state library, theft of library funds, falsification of records and violation of library loan policies, and reasons for crimes. Notes that such crimes can be safeguarded against by enforcing…

Suggests four methods for implementing a successful library planning process, based on experiences at the Anaheim (California) Public Library. Highlights include maximizing the level of public input; engaging staff at all levels in all stages of the process; assessing all input critically; and proper use in decision making. (Author/LRW)

Relates how the Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) Committee of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) works and describes one librarian's formation of teen book groups to get young adults involved in the public library and to solicit their personal opinions on titles to nominate for BBYA committee consideration. (AEF)

Describes the results of a survey of public service librarians conducted by the Queens Borough Public Library to determine their confidence levels of using electronic resource to answer reference questions. Results demonstrated high confidence levels in using the library's online catalog and lower confidence in using the Internet. (Author/LRW)

Explores the feasibility of a centralized, networked reference service in a library setting by comparing traditional reference services at the County of Los Angeles Public Library with a commercial inbound call center. Discusses costs and efficiency when librarians answer questions able to be handled by paraprofessionals. (Author/LRW)

A survey was conducted to investigate public library directors' use of the Federal-State Cooperative System for Public Library Data and the Public Library Data Service reports. This article highlights the uses directors made of statistics and the aspects of statistics that they found particularly useful. (Contains 51 references.) (Author/AEF)

Describes innovative programs developed at the Danbury (Connecticut) Public Library to connect kids to the World Wide Web. Highlights include how to select appropriate Web sites; examples of good Web sites, some of which are interactive; planning for technology failures; and involving parents. (LRW)

Two small associations joined forces October 13-16 in Columbus, OH, to create a more dynamic annual conference. The Association of Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) met with the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services (ABOS) so members could learn from one another and grapple with similar issues. Representing 36 states and New Zealand, 205…

About 18 months ago, we at the reference desk of the Vigo County Public Library (VCPL) in Terre Haute, Ind., noticed a troubling fact. Many of our small, local, nonprofit agencies did not have Web sites, making it difficult to locate and share information about these groups with the community. We began to ponder that if we, as information…