The purpose of this manual for the 2003 Texas Reading Club, "Mission Possible: Spy a Book!" is to assist library staff who serve youth by suggesting ideas for programs that will attract children to the library. The following chapters are included: (1) Marketing, Cooperation and PR; (2) Serving Children with Disabilities; (3) Theme Songs;…

Chapter 1 of this handbook of Montana library laws, rules, and public library standards contains excerpts from the Constitution of Montana, including articles on property tax exemptions, educational goals and duties, and code of ethics. Montana library laws covering the following areas are presented in Chapter 2: publication and updating of the…

This report contains statistical information on Kentucky public libraries for fiscal year 1997-1998 taken from the Annual Report of Public Libraries. The report is separated into seven sections: summary of library statistics for the most recent year (1998) and comparisons with the three prior years; graphs showing statistical trends in library…

This paper describes experiences of a reference librarian at California State University (Sacramento) who spent three weeks in Vladivostok (Russia) to assess the library and research needs of faculty and students at the Far Eastern State Technical University. After briefly describing the city of Vladivostok and its military role in the Soviet…

This paper addresses the plans of the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) Section on Reading for keeping the literacy issue alive within IFLA and for moving ahead with specific programs and projects. The first section provides historical background on IFLA's involvement with literacy from 1989 to the present.…

This paper discusses public libraries in the United Kingdom (UK) from a social and political point of view and examines race issues outside the UK. Part 1 addresses understanding race and class oppression, including moving away from a Eurocentric approach, features of racism, social and economic exclusion, the language of exclusion/liberation,…

This report provides preliminary findings and a summary of study activities for Stage I of a project that examined public library Internet services that could impact the Digital Divide. The first section discusses the E-rate program and the Digital Divide, including closing the gap in the Digital Divide and public library Internet connectivity and…

Public libraries serve patrons who have a wide range of demographic characteristics. Boards of Trustees of public libraries play an important role in maintaining and planning libraries that serve the needs of the community. The demographic characteristics of the board are one factor that can help represent the diversity of the patron community.…

In the 1970s and early 1980s, a few library researchers and scholars made a case for the importance of public libraries' acquisition of popular music, particularly rock music sound recordings. Their arguments were based on the anticipated historical and cultural importance of obtaining and maintaining a collection of these materials. Little new…

Non-reference guidance is not available at many public libraries. One fifth of the respondents to a questionnaire indicated that they had some type of formal program but several had funding problems. The history of and need for reader advisors is presented. (22 references) (DH)

Survey results of adult library use indicate that educational, family life cycle, and environmental factors, in that order of importance, affect the rate of adult library use. (DS)

The Huntington Public Library has operated a video tape project since May, 1972. They supply equipment and training to community groups and act as distributor for the completed films. (DH)

The Public Information Center Project started with four tasks in mind: (1) identify information needs, (2) inventory information sources and services, (3) define the library's role in connection with these needs, and (4) help the library serve the needs identified. (4 references) (Author/NH)

The large part played in French social reform by John Mace in implementing compulsory public education was congruent with his belief in the democratic principles of the French Revolution. These principles held that the whole store of human knowledge was a legacy everyone should share; and that the function of education was to bring the cultural…

Edited version of an address delivered at Institute on Public Library Management (12th, Madison, Wisconsin, April 26, 1968). The library network has not developed because the public has not recognized its potential usefulness. It can provide a new level of service if the value is not nullified by bureaucratic rigidity. (JS)