Discusses library consultants and offers a step-by-step plan for selecting a consultant who meets a library's specific needs. Topics include setting criteria and the type of consultant needed; turnaround time; Request for Proposal or Request for Qualifications; and building consensus between staff, management, and the consultant. (LRW)

Argues that the primary purpose of the school library is to provide information, and discusses selection policies, the librarian's teaching responsibilities, the need for clerical assistance, and centralized processing in this context. A vision of the school library as information center is presented with summaries of the roles of teachers, the…

Reviews the literature addressing description and cataloging. Topics covered in the review include the functions and structures of catalogs; the Anglo American Cataloging Rules; application and extension of bibliographic control; authority control; shared cataloging and bibliographic networks; retrospective conversion; management topics; and the…

A survey of corporate and government libraries in Victoria, Australia, revealed that many are in favor of marketing services to their parent organizations, but in practice very few undertake formal marketing planning. Highlights elements of marketing processes in use by libraries and examines why more libraries are not preparing and implementing…

Arguing that young adult programing can provide benefits for the young people who participate as well as for the library, this article offers suggestions for young adult programs together with practical guidance for planning, publicizing and implementing youth services. (three references, six recommended readings) (LAE)

Discusses preservation issues for library collection development staff including the library mission, types of materials, preventive preservation measures, active preservation measures, preservation concerns in acquisitions decisions, gaining the support of administration for a preservation program, options for implementing a preservation program,…

These guidelines developed by the Genealogy Committee of the History Section of the Reference and Adult Services Division of the American Library Association are intended to assist public libraries providing beginning genealogical collections and services. They cover collection development, personnel, access, and fiscal considerations. (EA)

Explores the use of audiovisual materials in children's programing at the Seattle Public Library prior to 1920. Kinds of materials discussed include pictures, reflectoscopes, films, sound recordings, lantern slides, and stereographs. (17 references) (MES)

Following an introduction to authority control and MARC (machine readable cataloging), 10 steps are presented for making the transition from a manual to an automated authority file, keeping up with ongoing work, staying current in the discipline, and retrospective work. (23 references) (MES)

Describes several strategies for obtaining funding for library automation, including convincing management of the importance of automating; buying computer parts individually; upgrading gradually; subscribing to a CD-ROM service that includes equipment; identifying equipment by function (e.g., database search units); trading off less important…

Describes the characteristics and principles of operation of special collections of children's literature, including scope, history, edition and association, physical plant, limitations, staff and networks, users, funding, and overall benefit to the public including children. Examples are used to illustrate the topics, and a 22-item bibliography…

Describes the services offered to librarians by book vendors and addresses the effects of increasing costs and decreasing funds on library acquisitions and publishers as well as on vendors. The costs of ordering and processing library materials are discussed, and labor-saving devices in acquisitions are suggested. (LRW)

Discusses the use of metaphor during the first 50 years of the modern American library movement in the hopes of inspiring one another, recruit newcomers to the profession, and to influence outsiders. Examines references to the library in terms of more visible institutions such as schools, universities, the church, and business and industry.…

This paper examines the extent to which U.S. Association of Research Libraries (ARL) are providing services to their distance education library patrons, it reveals whether each U.S. ARL library has a designated librarian in charge of services to distance education students, and it presents the perceived challenges faced by distance education…