Designed to allow Alaskan librarians to evaluate and compare their libraries, this annual report compiles information provided by public libraries receiving Public Assistance grants for fiscal years 1987 and 1988. Part I presents statistics for 1988; Part II reports the 1987 statistics. It is noted that the information reported for fiscal year…

This study investigated the construct of effectiveness as it applies to public libraries and developed a methodology that can be transferred to other types of libraries and organizations. The research team began by compiling a list of indicators that are commonly used to gauge library effectiveness within the areas of: (1) services access; (2)…

In 1967 the School of Library and Information Services of the University of Maryland received a grant from the U.S. Office of Education for a demonstration project to prepare students for service to socially and economically disadvantaged groups. The innovative core of this program was a laboratory library located in one of the black ghettos of…

This guidebook and annotated bibliography is designed to provide a basic listing of sources of state (Maryland), federal, and some general law for the non-law library community, and to offer some insight into the suggested approaches for dealing with legal reference inquiries. Listings of contributors and members of the Task Force on Improving…

This report summarizes the results of a feasibility study of the Bay Area Literacy Referral Network (BALRN), a local literacy referral system established in 1985 by the coordinators of the 13 Bay Area literacy projects, which in turn were established by the California Literacy Campaign initiated in 1983. Funded with Library Services and…

Developed as part of a three-year project funded by the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), this manual is designed to present librarians in the State of California with an alternative, "sense-making" approach to assessing the information needs of patrons and potential patrons and to assessing accountability, i.e., whether…

This report describes a pilot project to develop a Cooperative System for Public Library Data Collection, which would enable the Center for Education Statistics (CES) of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement to issue national statistical reports on public libraries by using data collected by state library agencies in their annual…

Intended as a guide and resource for staff and volunteers in small public libraries in Alaska, this manual is divided into the following chapters: (1) "Establishing a Library," which covers the establishment by ordinance or by organization of a non-profit corporation, information on drafting bylaws, and the role and responsibilities of…

This long range plan for 1985-90 for the Caroline County (Maryland) Public Library emphasizes the areas of important information needs, availability of materials and information, leisure time interests, and developmental skills. Following an overview of why and how the plan evolved, four goals and their corresponding objectives are discussed: (1)…

Contributed by librarians from public, academic, school, and special libraries, the 17 essays in this collection describe ways in which the Apple Macintosh is used in their libraries: (1) "Workstations and the Apple Macintosh" (Edward J. Valauskas); (2) "The Macintosh Experience at Chesapeake College" (Liz Cooper); (3)…

A serials cancellation pilot project was conducted by the Pittsburgh Regional Library Center (PRLC) from August 1981 to December 1983 in order to demonstrate the utility of using a large online union list of serials for making and reporting collection management decisions. A total of 21 academic libraries and one public library from Pennsylvania,…

A project was initiated to develop a cooperative relationship between local adult education programs and public libraries. It was hoped that this relationship would result in greater use of library services by undereducated adults. In return, it was anticipated that libraries would refer undereducated adults to adult education programs. While all…

Because the general alphabetic arrangement of fiction in libraries is of little use to the ordinary reader, whose criteria for selecting books often relates to book content, a multi-dimensional and inexclusive fiction classification scheme was developed as a model for both book description and search strategy. Based on analysis of 160 actual…

This report presents the steps and actions that public libraries may take to begin to meet the needs for literacy training in their individual communities. Outlined are three major approaches that libraries can consider when addressing the literacy needs of their communities: (1) initiating a literacy program; (2) cooperating with an existing…

This report on the 1989-93 long range plan for the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) begins by providing lists of the members of the Alabama Public Library Service Executive Board and Alabama Advisory Council on Public Libraries; a list of APLS management staff; background information on APLS and the purpose of this program; an overview of the…