A young adult librarian describes how he brought the touring cast of the musical, "RENT," to the Kalamazoo (Michigan) Public Library to introduce teenagers to musical theatre. Discussion includes the initial contact process; planning the event; publicity; catering; the tremendous turn-out; and tips for arranging such a cast visit. (AEF)

Discussion of young adult library services focuses on the results of a survey of New Jersey public libraries. Highlights include job titles; population served; job responsibilities; young adult services; young adult staff; policy of information provision; young adult research preferences; and recommendations for future research. (LRW)

Discusses challenges to bookmobile and public library service. Topics include needed flexibility of the library organization and employees, redefining existing services in light of emerging competition for funds and customers, direct competitors, and library services aligning with mission. (LRW)

Discusses academic library collection-development theory and policy. Suggests that a standard collection of works specific to each discipline (a canon), is a powerful tool because such canons can censor the works that fall outside of the prevailing norms, the hegemony of the discipline. (LRW)

Discusses problems that adolescents deal with and examines the prejudices and lack of services that adolescents encounter in public libraries, including a lack of specialized staff, no separate space, no outreach programs, and disproportionate budget allocations. Emphasizes the need that adolescents have for adult relationships that public…

Discussion of decision making for librarians focuses on strategic decisions made to support library operations and growth. Examines five principles used to make good business decisions: basic philosophy of library operations, methodology for making choices, interlibrary cooperation and networking, internal and external influences, and assessment…

Since technology is so expensive, making the wrong purchasing decisions can have severe financial consequences. The purpose of this article is to describe three technology decisions that failed to achieve their original intent. For each of the three, the author's discuss the expectations of the chief information officer, the vendor's sales pitch,…

Circulation policies are guidelines used by staff and patrons when checking out materials. These policies usually address issues such as the number of items a patron may borrow, the length of time items may be kept, and if there will be consequences for nonreturn of materials. This article addresses issues library media specialists may want to…

The resurgence of interest in e-books, who uses them, and where the technology is headed were among the issues discussed March 16 at the eBooks in the Public Library Conference in New York, sponsored by the Open eBook Forum (OeBF). Roughly 200 librarians, publishers, and vendors braved a winter squall to share their expertise and experiences.…

Virtual reference services seem a natural extension of libraries digital collections and the emphasis on access to the library anytime, anywhere. If patrons use the library from home, it makes sense to provide them with person-to-person online reference. The Library of Congress (LC), OCLC, and several large library systems have developed and…

In this article, the author discusses her personal experience of coming up with a mission statement for her library. A significant part of that goal was to identify what a best-practice library looked like so that she could emulate the model in her library. The entire process is described in this article.

With a mission in mind to change the world, one bibliographic corner at a time Christine Schultz, began with a dream of being in charge. In the Fall of 2004, she was promoted to the position of Library Director at a small, private liberal arts college. In this article, she shares how she overcame the challenges of a tight budget, and a building…

When Leslie Polott arrived at the Hudson Library and Historical Society in 1996. She headed out into the community to find out what people wanted from their library. After rounds of surveys, focus groups, and town meetings, she knew: a library that was the center of their educational and cultural lives, that provided more opportunities for…

In this article, the author describes what components should be included in a comprehensive policy for public wireless usage in a library. He lists four basic steps, which include: (1) Introduce the service; (2) List the technical requirements; (3) Spell out disclaimers on access, assistance, and liability; and (4) Alert users to security concerns.

The Information Center (IC) evolved to take control of technology, to integrate the library's growing collection of networked resources with its service mission, to build a team of personnel committed to the success of the IC, and to integrate assessment into the cycle of change at the Mansfield Library.