Rapid technological change has caused some to question the need for the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). We argue that the traditional roles of FDLP libraries in selecting, acquiring, organizing, preserving, and providing access to and services for government information are more important than ever in the digital age.

After decades of costly and time-consuming effort, nearly all libraries have completed the retrospective conversion of their card catalogs to electronic form. However, bibliographic systems still are really not much more than card catalogs on wheels. Enriched content that Amazon.com takes for granted--such as digitized tables of contents, cover…

On April 21, 2004, the Joe L. Frost Children's Play and Play Environments Research Collection was dedicated at the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Library at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas. This brief article describes the collection and Frost's plans for the future.

Library media specialists are often asked when to create a new record in cataloging various editions of the same title for library media center collections. This article, adapted from the new edition of "Catalog It," will provide some hints to answer this question. In some cases, it is easy to recognize when two copies of the same information…

Even though librarians fulfill the roles of teacher, instructional partner, information specialist, and program administrator many outside the library still say that librarians don't do anything. However, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes before the library program begins.

This article presents the results of a web-based survey that examined current tasks performed within Access Services departments in academic libraries and explored future trends in the area. Thirty-four core tasks that rated more than sixty percent on the survey were identified as being common to most Access Services departments. Future trends…

"ARL Statistics 2006-2007" is the latest in a series of annual publications that describe collections, staffing, expenditures, and service activities for the 123 members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Of these, 113 are university libraries and 10 are public, governmental, and nonprofit research libraries. Data reported by…

"California Library Laws 2008" is a selective guide to state laws and related materials that most directly affect the everyday operations of public libraries and organizations that work with public libraries. It is intended as a convenient reference, not as a replacement for the annotated codes or for legal advice. The guide is organized…

While not a brand new phenomenon, online social networking sites continue to be exceedingly popular and seem to be where students spend much of their time. Not only are participants blogging, texting, chatting, sharing files, gaming, and existing virtually online, they also are forming communities and new cultures and exhibiting new informational…

In this article, the author talks about Twitter, a micro-blogging Web site, and how librarians can use Twitter to interact with students and to monitor actual usage of library services. He shares what he has learned from twittering with library users. He learned that Twitter expands the reach of research assistance. With students using the social…

At their core, XML feeds are content-delivery vehicles. This fact has not always been highlighted in library conversations surrounding RSS and ATOM. The authors have looked to extend the conversation by offering a proof of concept application using RSS as a means to deliver all types of library data: PDFs, docs, images, video--to people where and…

The purposes of the study were to explore the role of Canada's public libraries in developing the public's information literacy (IL) skills, to explore current IL training practices, and to explore the perspectives and IL experiences of individuals who visit public libraries to access the Internet. This article documents the second phase of a…

Some people learn better through viewing and listening, and some people simply do not like to read. In this society, there seems to be a move away from text, or, at least text as people have defined in the past. Moreover, mobile devices such as laptops, PDAs, and cell phones make video and audio incredibly easy to imbibe. So how do libraries…

Twenty doctoral students from the School of Library and Information Sciences at the University of North Texas met in the summer of 2005 to complete a seminar and online course on "Online Information Services." The class offered the perfect research settings with 10 practicing school librarians and 10 practitioners from other areas of the library…

The announcement of the mandate for Constitution and Citizenship Day shortly before September, 2005, probably led to groans of dismay. Not another "must-do" for teachers and schools already stressed by federal and state requirements for standardized tests, increasingly rigid curricula, and scrutiny from the public and officials. But the…