The purpose of this congressional hearing was to determine how libraries fit into the emerging national information infrastructure (NII). Testimony and prepared statements include those from Howard F. McGinn, Director, Emporia Public Library, Emporia, Kansas; James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.,…

This report describes the 5-year plan of the Documentary Heritage Program (DHP), which is charged with ensuring that historical records important for documenting Western New York are preserved and are used effectively by researchers. The report is divided into four sections. In the first section the background and structure of the DHP is…

This training manual was written for student reference assistants to teach them about the Monterey County Free Library (California) and about libraries in general. It introduces library nomenclature (e.g., automated system, interlibrary loan, and MLS), describes requirements of the reference assistant position, and provides information on how to…

With fiber optic networks that can deliver library materials directly to the user from computerized data banks, is there any need for the library function? For the short term, public libraries will survive. The answer for the medium and long-term is much less certain. Libraries will survive if librarians see themselves as active providers of…

This study was undertaken to investigate the relative importance of childhood experiences in determining adult reading and public library use. Data were gathered via a nationally representative telephone interview conducted by the Survey Research Center of the University of Michigan. The interview contained 25 questions relating to current reading…

This how-to-do-it guide for Oklahoma public libraries to use in evaluating their performance defines the individual performance measures, explains the data collection and analysis procedures, shows example calculations, and discusses the analysis and presentation of the performance measures. The performance measures are presented in terms of the…

As part of a pilot project sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, the needs assessment study described in this report set out to determine (1) the library and information needs of Asian Americans, and how they differ from the needs of the majority population, (2) whether these needs are being met, and (3) how librarians…

This report looks at the use of public library online circulation systems for the generation of in-house secondary information--such as statistical reports and mailing lists--and also considers problems in maintaining confidentiality of patron records when using online circulation systems. Based on a survey of the literature, general information…

Comments on the status of art and music collections in large public libraries where they are administered as a department. (Author/PF)

Suggestions are given for expanding a public library collection in the fine, applied, and performing arts. (PF)

Reasons are given for encouraging adults to read books published for children. (PF)

The results of a survey of rural public libraries in Pennsylvania are reported in narrative form, supplemented with tables and graphs. The report is based on the responses of 1,053 library users of 124 rural libraries (out of a sample of 131). Concerned with the users' perceptions of the public library, the first section presents data on reasons…

This report presents the findings of the first national survey of public libraries on their services and resources available to children. Questionnaires were mailed to a national probability sample of 846 public libraries, nonrespondents were contacted by telephone, and the final response rate was 97%. Survey items included the availability of…

To test the strength of a booklist as a selection aid, an experimental/control group research design was used in the Lexington Library of the Davidson County (North Carolina) Public Library System to measure the effect of a booklist on the circulation of a group of fiction books that had not been checked out from the library in 4 years or longer.…