The Clique, a contemporary popular series for girls, has been criticized in the popular and professional media but includes thematic content similar to some of the more lauded mid-nineteenth-century domestic fiction for girls. By making a formal comparison of this popular series with domestic fiction for girls (much of which is now considered…

Materials challenges and censorship occur often in public and private educational settings. Private schools and their library media centers are not subject to the First Amendment but research reported in this article examines the state of challenges to materials held in private schools media centers in the southeast United States as a way to gauge…

Use of the physical collections and services of academic libraries continues to plummet, with some exceptions, while use of electronic networked resources skyrockets. This article frames the extent of this decline with a focus on circulation and reference among ARL University, Medical, and Law Libraries, the Ivy League, other associations,…

"Forbes" recently reported that Americans spent $11 billion in 2008 on self-help books, CDs, seminars, coaching, and stress-management programs--13.6 percent more than they did in 2005. Why the uptick? According to a recent "Publishers Weekly" cover story, conventional publishing industry wisdom holds that personal improvement titles do very well…

Each night, around 20,000 people--both adults and children--make the streets of Dhaka (the capital city of Bangladesh) their home. Living amongst the noise, rubbish, and traffic, thousands of families walk down the streets of Dhaka, looking for a safe place to rest for just a few hours each night. Trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, the…

Article provided a checklist as a tentative guideline for the difficult question of how to judge the instructional media center. (Author/RK)

This study examined the feasibility of ordering an e-book (electronic book) to replace a lost or brittle book in the Kent State University (Ohio) library. The study checked a representative sample of 234 books lost during July to December 2000 to see the availability of the book in e-form, as well as the cost of the print versus the e-book…

Overview of the problems faced the acquisition librarian in 1969. (MF)

This article suggests sources of vertical file material and the limitations and potentialities of such files, and the importance of sleuthing and pressing for acquisitions. (MF)

Describes the elements of a selection decision model, and develops an outline for classification of library materials by source of origin. Descriptions of short- and long-term goals for collection development are included, as well as an outline of macro- and microselection decision making. (Author/MBR)

Many scholars and professionals have noted in recent years that the United States is experiencing a transformation to an economy based upon knowledge. However, researchers have only begun to explore how the essence of such an economy, the creation of wealth by organizations through their use of information, works empirically. This study provides…

The widespread use of the Internet gave rise to the view that all knowledge is to be found there and that books and libraries are becoming redundant. A few probes aimed at exploring its depths found that while its speed and subject coverage are without equal, the "Net" is not the universal tool it is made out to be. The author then makes a case…

This article recounts a project at the Middle Tennessee State University library to include records for electronic databases in the online catalog. Although electronic databases are accessible via the library's Databases A-Z list and related subject guides, cataloging these resources also provides access via the online catalog, allowing more of…

This paper aims at presenting disability issues in library and information science education in general and in Greece in particular. It also examines whether issues such as people with disabilities, accessibility, alternative format material and assistive technologies are incorporated in the library schools' curricula. Furthermore, the results of…

Today's students have grown up in an information environment very different from the one that many people remember. They have been raised on the fast-paced edutainment of "Sesame Street" and have spent their adolescence watching 3-minute music videos on MTV. Their media environment specializes in short messages and multimedia, with news dispatched…