This brief article reports on the 12th national Association of College and Research Libraries' (ACRL) conference held April 7-10, 2004 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. William Mitchell, head of the media arts and sciences program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an architecture professor provided the conference attendees with the opening…

This article reports one part of a project that examined collaborations among public institutions providing informal lifelong learning opportunities to children and adults in the United States. It presents the results of a survey of chief executive officers and staff of public libraries, museums, public television stations, and public radio…

Florida's Ask a Librarian service (http://www.askalibrarian.org) brings virtual reference to users at their moment of need via the Internet. Ask a Librarian is a growing service with 76 participating libraries including public, school, four-year, and community college libraries. The following article describes how Ask a Librarian was developed…

This report marks the second release of library statistics data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). It contains data on state library agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia for state fiscal year (FY) 2007. The data were collected through the State Library Agencies (StLA) Survey, the product of a cooperative…

This article uses Wellington City Libraries as the basis for a case study of a future-focused, reorganized staffing structure in a public library network. It covers the change from why, how, departure from a building-based hierarchical structure, new staff and line responsibilities, union involvement, implications for staff training to culture and…

Virtually all public libraries in the United States provide some type of summer library reading program during the traditional summer vacation period. Summer library reading programs provide opportunities for students of many ages and abilities to practice their reading skills and maintain skills that are developed during the school year. Fiore…

Through assistive technology, individualized support, and community-based activities, the Inclusive Libraries Initiative is increasing the capacity of rural libraries in Northeast Alberta to attract and serve patrons with disabilities, particularly developmental disabilities. Local public libraries are important natural supports for adults with…

This digest discusses ways in which public libraries deal with latchkey children who spend their after-school hours at public libraries while their parents are at work. Research conducted in 1990 of 110 public libraries revealed that almost all libraries encountered unattended children after school hours, and that most libraries surveyed were not…

The book has made the transition to the digital age; that much is certain. However, the jury is still out on what form or forms the book of the future will take and how libraries will adapt. This article is a look at the impact of digital books on public library acquisitions, including available formats, purchasing considerations, functional…

Over the years, the Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) has experimented with various continuous improvement initiatives. Some projects fizzled owing to the universal killers of grand ideas such as inertia, inconsistent implementation, lack of buy-in, "flavor of the month" attitude, and the all-time favorite: if they ignore this idea it…

In November 1994, directors of Alabama's 21 public library systems were surveyed to determine their experiences with, and opinions of, the 1988 "Standards for Public Library Service in Alabama." Replies were received from nine (34%) of the directors. Directors were provided with a list of 15 ways in which they might have used the system…

This manual provides a conceptual framework and reference source concerning the reporting, financial contractual, and auditing requirements for recipients of Texas State Library grants funded with state and federal funds under the Library Systems Act (LSA) and the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA). The handbook is divided into 12…

This document is a directory of Oklahoma public libraries and library boards, institutional libraries, and key personnel. The first section, which makes up the bulk of this publication is an alphabetical listing by library community of public libraries, complete with address, phone and fax numbers, staff, and board members. The second section…

Consumers are becoming more actively involved in making decisions about health care, but librarians have had difficulty providing them with current, authoritative, and readable information. Medical databases provide the best reference to information on most health questions, from the latest breakthroughs to information on treatment methods and…

A preservation census was conducted of selected Dewey ranges of the volumes located in the mezzanine area of the Social Science Department of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library main branch. This collection is housed in a non-circulating, semi-supervised stack area and includes approximately 500 volumes in the fields of bibliography and rare…