The author of "The Fifth Discipline" says most schools are not learning organizations. Educators are too isolated and rule-bound to experience collective learning and engage students. Deep learning is learner-driven. Learning communities enhance people's collective capacity to create and pursue overall visions. Schools must exchange…

Thanks to a student teacher's efforts, a fourth-grade class in Montgomery County, Maryland, spent half a day touring Bell Atlantic's facilities. Each student's most treasured memory was lunching with a Bell Atlantic employee "buddy" and visiting his or her work station. Children's thank you letters expressed their gratitude for…

Discusses the results of a survey of commercial CD-ROM databases and compares them with previous annual surveys. Topics discussed include the rapid growth in number of available titles; types of databases; subject areas; hardware requirements; frequency of updates; prices; and CD-ROM's potential as a publishing medium. (seven references) (LRW)

Discussion of problems library wholesalers/distributors face trying to fulfill public libraries' needs while adjusting to a changing industry is based on responses by librarians to a survey on library jobbers. Increased services to libraries, electronic ordering, timeliness, stock management, and quality control are addressed; and a chart of…

Discusses innovative approaches to producing audio versions of books, including publication of original manuscripts in audio form; the use of electronic music; children's books with built-in speakers; computer-assisted audio books; and an electronic short story magazine. The future of electronic books and the role of libraries are considered. (MES)

Examines materials about laserdisks in literature published between 1970 and 1989 that addresses library applications. Searches on ERIC, Information Science Abstracts, Library and Information Science Abstracts, and Library Literature are reviewed; core laserdisk journals are discussed; indexing overlap is examined; and other online databases are…

Summarizes events of an International Environmental Film Festival held in Boulder, Colorado. Includes reviews of new environmental films and videos presented and discussed by filmmakers, producers, and directors. Describes filmmakers roles in environmental activism and two outreach programs of the festival: Greenschools and Global Action Plan for…

A survey of 120 postal worker participants in a back safety course and 89 controls found (1) there was increased knowledge among experimentals but no significant behavior change; and (2) experimentals were less likely to report reinforcement for healthy behaviors. The complexities of worker social support show that it cannot be relied upon to…

Analysis of industrial and demographic dynamics of New York City at once mirrors and anticipates events in other parts of the nation. Key factors are the sharp loss of manufacturing jobs, the rise in knowledge-based jobs, and the increased role of women and minorities in the labor force. (Author)

Discusses issues surrounding virtual reality and "virtual books." Suggests that those who are exploring the territory of virtual realities are already helping to expand and enrich expectations and visions for integrating technology into reading and writing. (RS)

Offers an overview of Soviet and Eastern European publishing practices. The history of communist publishing practices and the dramatic effect which Glasnost has had upon these practices are summarized. It is observed that highly unstable conditions in the USSR have severely jeopardized bibliographic control and hindered collection development in…

Discusses the results of a national survey of libraries, publishers, and subscription agents that was conducted by the American Library Association (ALA) to address concerns about serials prices. Highlights include library budget trends; resource sharing; selection decisions; library automation; pricing practices of publishers; publisher services;…

Describes a study that investigated holdings of small publishers' books in OCLC libraries and selection procedures for these titles, including the influence of reviews, publishers, and vendors. Questionnaire responses from librarians and vendors are analyzed, and results indicating a significant relationship between holdings and reviews are…

In three task settings differing in difficulty and turnover rate in a truck assembly plant, structured on-the-job training (OJT) provided twice the financial benefits as unstructured OJT and required one-fifth the mastery time. Turnover rate had a greater effect on benefit size than did task difficulty. (SK)

Describes the key features that distinguish standards development organizations (SDOs) and analyzes these features in light of recent work in political economy. It is concluded that many of the features that lead to a slower process may be interpreted as an efficient institutional response to problems posed by industry standardization. (24…