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)

Explains the AN-MSI (Advanced Networking with Minority Serving Institutions), an alliance of minority-serving institutions that are working together to reach information technology (IT) parity. Describes partnerships that have been formed to support four main activities: assisting campus leadership in IT planning, network technologies, Internet…

Describes the development of an electronic community network created by Virginia Tech for the Blacksburg area called the Blacksburg Electronic Village (BEV). Discusses information systems; telecommunications infrastructure; Internet traffic patterns; BEV as a role model for other communities; and student participation. (LRW)

As a reservoir of virtual spaces, the internet can be researched. It is empirically accessible. The questions focusing on the possibilities of the internet to support or maximise learning processes do not necessarily have to be at the centre of the inquiries. It is also possible to develop questions relevant to this research from the perspective…

Kenneth J. Klingenstein, Chief Technologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Project Director of the Internet2 Middleware Initiative, is the recipient of the 2003 EDUCAUSE Award for Leadership in Information Technologies. Klingenstein has been involved in computing technology for almost three decades. One of a handful of leaders who…

We examine the connection between personal network characteristics and the activation of ties for access to resources during routine times. We focus on factors affecting business owners' use of their core network ties to obtain legal, loan, financial and expert advice. Owners rely more on core business ties when their core networks contain a high…

Open access publishing is a hot topic today. But open access publishing can have many different definitions, and pros and cons vary with the definitions. Open access publishing is especially attractive to companies and small colleges or universities that are likely to have many more readers than authors. A downside is that a membership fee sounds…

This paper examines the influence of community attachment on voluntary citizen participation in rural community improvement projects. We do so by modifying the original systemic model of community attachment (Kasarda and Janowitz 1974) and combining it with tenets of rational choice and social embeddedness theories. The modified model is then…

Building stronger networks for transfer student success involves both inter-institutional and intra-institutional collaboration. This article explores successful efforts of the Office of Transfer Services at the University of Central Florida to address three critical components of transfer student success: 1) preparation, which involves the…

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…

In this paper we discuss findings from evaluations we conducted and share lessons we learned as developers of online education during the last 10 years. The purpose is to analyse some of the complexities in the design of online communities for professional development and continuing education. We present STAR-Online (Supporting Teachers with…

Two-hundred-and-sixty undergraduates at a two large eastern universities (who self identified as black or white) completed a confidential anonymous twenty-two-item questionnaire designed to assess perceptions of women and men. In general, while both races tended to view women and men of their own and the other race positively, there was a…

The support that the African American college students from predominantly White campuses get from the families and other kinship networks is analyzed. It is concluded that the family support helps in reducing stress level among college students and provides an emotional support to them.

This exploratory study examined gender differences in the patterns of drug offers among a sample of 71 American Indian middle school students. Participants responded to an inventory of drug-related problem situations specific to the cultural contexts of Southwestern American Indian youth. They were asked to consider the frequency of drug offers…

This study examined the functions of Instant Messaging (IM) among seven youths who regularly used this digital technology in their daily lives. Grounded in theories of literacy as a social and semiotic practice, this research asked what functions IM served in participants' lives and how their social identities shaped and were shaped by this form…