Discusses the planning and implementation of a program to acquire copies of personal papers and federal records for deposit in the John F. Kennedy Library. The current status of the library's microfilm collections is described. (nine references) (MES)

Describes a survey of research libraries regarding policies on monetary support for conference travel. Responses discussed include staff eligibility; levels of involvement supported; locus of allocation decisions; format and frequency of allocations; items affecting allocation size; limits on number of conferences and amount of allocations; and…

Presents a history of Project INTREX, a mid-1960s project sponsored by the Council on Library Resources and hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The project's goal was to lay the foundation for research libraries of the 1970s and beyond. Findings show that INTREX failed because of inadequate funding and slow technological…

The percentage of books in a research library having personal authors that were cataloged and entered in a one-screen minicatalog was determined to be 36.6 percent when searched. Libraries can reduce cataloging costs and increase user access to information by simplifying cataloging. (AEF)

Discussion of selection criteria for special collections in libraries focuses on the development of selection criteria at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Canada. The need for the involvement of staff members is discussed, and criteria for materials are described, including age, rarity, historical significance, and physical…

Reviews the literature on cataloging expertise and expert systems and describes a case study of cataloging staff at the National Agricultural Library. Results are reported in the areas of networking patterns of expertise, including levels of expertise; and transformation of expertise from private to public knowledge and between individuals. (24…

Suggests using primary sources such as diaries and folk songs in history instruction to broaden the textbook portrayal of history. Recommends the establishment of centers throughout the United States with access to library resources. Identifies some existing centers. Includes an appendix on folk songs and history in the classroom. (SG)

Explores the use of outdated reference materials in history instruction and the inadequacy of bibliographic training for history graduate students. Describes the explosive growth in the availability of reference works and their changes in form. Observes that historians still rely primarily on written reference works. Offers a taxonomy of U.S.…

Describes the methods and results of a user-centered field study that investigated the design requirements for a Web-based research library, a digital library representing a collection of large domain-specific documents that can be accessed remotely to support scholarly research. Results provide insight into Web-based inquiry and requirements for…

This study uses the list of periodicals indexed by "Alternative Press Index" to examine the holdings rates of alternative press titles in the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries. Results by subject clusters show low holdings rates. The impact on scholars, students, and library collections is discussed. (Author/LRW)

Discusses a scholar's reactions to libraries made by Umberto Eco in "De Biblioteca." Topics addressed include functions of libraries, including collecting; accessibility of materials; the scholar's creative use of libraries, and discovering materials not looked for or known about; North American research libraries; photocopying; and…

Describes a study of two research university libraries that examined digital library use of faculty researchers, librarians, and computer support providers in order to provide a theoretical model for understanding digital library use in different social worlds. Closed rational and open natural systems models in organizational theory are discussed.…

The articles in this special issue honor the journal's foundation editor, Dietrich Borchardt giving a retrospect, personal memoir, insight to the editor, his government publications, Australia's bibliographer, personal note, impressionist sketch, education for librarianship, overseas suppliers, bibliography, and a paper by Borchardt…

These six articles discuss collection level descriptions. Highlights include cross-domain issues; archive standards and automation issues; museum considerations, including metadata and Web pages, based on the Canadian Heritage Information Network; data standards for directories; electronic libraries in the United Kingdom; and the Research…

Recent innovations in information technology have met, and in many cases, exceeded all but the most utopian visions for increasing access to research materials. Although the costs of the technology are high and the risks of losing access to digital information in the future because of hardware and software obsolescence are now widely recognized,…