Considers the role of school media librarians in changing educational environments. Highlights include a future education scenario; educational improvement; electronic information networking; constructivist versus instructional models of schooling; school computer network development, including costs; and library media leadership, including…

Describes three general trends related to technology that will influence school library media centers: (1) increasing volume and types of information in electronic form; (2) increasing resource sharing and networking; and (3) increasing attention to accountability and productivity. Implications relating to organization and structure, and…

Explores the impact of electronic networking on social evolution, new notions of literacy, and social equity. Strategies to develop the Internet/NREN as a vehicle for reconnecting segments of society and promoting a network-literate population are needed. The role of libraries and the educational community in accomplishing these objectives must be…

Describes the development of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) library information network which provides NRL scientists with access to CD-ROM databases, electronic journals, software applications, the Internet, and the library's online catalog. Implementation phases, system research and development, CD-ROM networking feasibility analysis,…

Discussion of characteristics of users of computer-mediated communication systems and scientific networks focuses on a study of the scientific community in Chile. Topics addressed include users and nonusers; productivity; educational level; academic specialty; age; gender; international connectivity; public policy issues; and future research…

Profiles a teacher workshop sponsored by the School of California On-line Resources in Education (SCORE). The teachers developed units of instruction using problem-based learning (a constructivist approach where students discover techniques and information to solve problems) and combining them with Web-based information and tools. Briefly…

Academic mailing lists are formed by scholars and professionals interested in intellectual discussion and professional exchange of ideas. Academic mailing lists focus on academic and scholarly subjects, but they are not immune from "flaming," hostile, insulting language in computer-mediated communication. Two scholarly mailing lists,…

Among the best examples of the professional development of teachers that has become a key component of systemic educational reform are the curriculum-based teacher networks that have been created and nurtured in public schools by external private and public funders. This study examined the impact of four such networks on teacher renewal and…

The process that Catonsville Community College (Maryland) went through in moving from a copper to a fiber network is outlined. The discussion addresses the following: describing the need in real terms; building consensus for the project; gaining support by college management; justifying the need for consultant support; writing the request for…

One problem with state speech organizations is the lack of common sense sometimes shown in selecting the geographic locations of the conventions. The best solution is for the conference to be held in the middle of the state, so that attendance will be greater and representation more even-handed. Some have suggested the elimination of state…

FloriNet--the Florida Library Online Resource Information Network--was first envisioned by a Florida Network Planning Task Force in 1994 as the aggregate of networked information in Florida libraries, including library networks, independent libraries, statewide databases, Free-Nets, and as-yet unimagined information resources. This document is a…

Noting that journalism and mass communication educators have experimented broadly with computer applications since the 1970s, this paper suggests that momentum is building in the 1990s in three areas (industry imperative, social significance, and pedagogic promise) to integrate computer-mediated communication (CMC) into the journalism and mass…

Evaluation Voices is an approach to evaluation that assumes that programs with similar goals can strengthen their evaluation strategies through cluster networking as they build evaluation expertise from within. Evaluators focus on a process that: (1) begins with program staff and stakeholders sharing their vision for the program; (2) recognizes…

Celebrating the vitality and diversity of West Coast writing, this book is a collection of 35 essays by writers based in California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. Loosely organized around the ideas that West Coast writers often look to their roots elsewhere and that they pursue new directions as varied as their roots, the collection presents a…

This paper describes playback equipment provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped's Talking Books program. The history of these machines is reviewed from 1933 to the present and includes activities during World War II, the introduction of flexible discs and cassettes, descriptions of a variety of machines…