Highlights some of the skills and technological advances that have changed the way special collections are preserved in reference to two approaches: item-level conservation and collections conservation. Discusses mechanical paper splitting; computer imaging and mechanization; mass deacidification; controlling temperature, humidity, pests, and…

This article is an exploration of oral history practice within the context of a performing arts archive. It addresses the deceptively simple question of what oral historians should actually ask their respondents and, ultimately, how much do we, as researchers, really want to know. The use of oral history material is discussed from a historical…

Hurricane Ivan struck the Gulf Coast of Florida on September 16, 2004, destroying waterfront homes, and damaging properties for miles. Pensacola Junior College (PJC), a two-year college with three campuses and a student population of approximately 26,000, was hit hard. In the Pensacola Campus Learning Resources Center (LRC), water and mold ruined…

Exotic, captivating, and seductive, orchids have long fascinated plant lovers. They first attracted the attention of Westerners in the 17th century, when explorers brought back samples from South America and Asia. By the mid-1800s, orchid collecting had reached a fever pitch, not unlike that of the Dutch tulip craze of the 1630s, with rich (and…

"ARL" is the bimonthly report on research library issues and actions from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). "ARL" reports on current issues of interest to academic and research library administrators, staff and users; higher…

The move to electronic forms of communication has changed the way educational research is communicated. In particular it has led to an increased reliance on journals. This change has been more precipitous than one might expect. As journals become a larger proportion of the body of current scholarship, authors and readers seek new methods of…

For the past several years, many in the library profession have questioned the relevance of reference librarians in the digital age. With so much information available online, are reference librarians even still needed? The author believes they are--probably even more so today than ever. It is precisely the vast proliferation of electronic…

Diversity has been identified as a priority in library and information services for some time. The limited published research on diversity programs in libraries, though, has focused on academic libraries. This article represents the results of a study of leadership diversity in large, urban public libraries. In the study of members of the Urban…

In the past quarter of a century, subtle and important changes in both the subject matter and format of collections organized for special collections departments have taken place, and many special collections now contain significant printed "papers" and manuscript collections of research quality in addition to the printed book. Such…

This selection guide was compiled as an introduction to the subject of acquiring library materials for the mentally handicapped. It is intended for a wide variety of users: librarians who work in public, hospital, and school libraries; people who consult with publishers; and people who have responsibility for selecting materials for use with or by…

Guidelines for library media services for the North Clackamas School District were developed by two teams representing the elementary, junior high, and senior high schools. These minimum standards describe the goals and objectives for library media services to students, staff, and community; the operation of the media centers; and the audiovisual…

This collection of 45 articles, all published since 1969, examines the broad applications of media to all types of libraries and attempts to answer both philosophical and practical questions related to integrating media into library thinking. The emphasis is on humanistic rather than technological concerns. Articles are grouped into sections…

This handbook contains policy and procedure guidelines for establishing and maintaining libraries for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (in regional, area, and insuring offices). In addition to delineating the relationship between these field libraries to the headquarters HUD Division Library, the text offers guidelines…

This volume contains the appendixes to the report of the College of Education Libraries Research Project (IR 001 264) commissioned by the Department of Education and Science, Didsbury College of Education, Manchester, England. It includes tables, graphs, statistical data, letters, questionnaires, and some narrative text on the subjects of…

Designed essentially for librarians in undergraduate colleges in the United States, this bibliography is arranged both on a topical/subject and country by country basis. In the general section, the reader may find the bibliographies of bibliographies, reference works, journals, and specific works which treat geography, history, government and…