Describes the development and construction of the Bibliotheca Alexandria, a public research library in Alexandria (Egypt) serving African, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern countries as well as having global cultural implications. Topics include friends of the library groups; the role of UNESCO; and criticism of the library. Includes side bar…

Argues that special collections in an electronic environment will continue to be important because of the continuing value of artifactual documents and that special collections librarians may have new roles with respect to intellectual property and the merging of special and general digital collections. Discusses special collections on the…

Random samples of works were drawn from the catalogs of the Bobst Library, New York University, and the Burke Library, Union Theological Seminary, New York to examine derivative bibliographic relationships. Two sites were chosen to allow a test of the differences in collection development patterns between a university research library and a…

Traditional measures of quality are no longer adequate to reflect library excellence and impact. Analysis of an Association for Research Libraries data set showed that there was a relationship between the ARL Index and services; between the number of undergraduate students and services; and between instructional presentations and operating…

Virtual tours delivered via the Web have become a common tool for both instruction and outreach. This article is a case study of the creation of a virtual tour for a university library and is intended to provide others interested in creating a virtual tour of their library the opportunity to learn from the mistakes and successes of fellow…

UCLA, which has one of the top 10 research libraries in the country, has been using Taos software since 1996. However in 2001, Sirsi Corp. announced that it was freezing development on Taos software. As the associate university librarian for information technology at UCLA, the author relates that it was his responsibility to lead the way through…

During the last decade, research has become increasingly important to the profession of librarianship. Seven library schools now have doctoral programs, foundation grants have stimulated and supported scores of major projects, and the research method has been recognized as an accepted technique for solving library problems. The increasing volume…

"ARL Statistics 2005-06" 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 libraries…

Information Literacy (IL) competencies are defined as "the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively" and are considered essential for students in their academic lives and future careers (ALA, 1989). IL plays an important role in developing critical thinking and problem solving skills, and improving academic…

Research libraries were among the first to embrace and exploit the potential of the World Wide Web after its debut in the 1990s. They quickly began constructing virtual information landscapes, including policies, services, and collections that not only shaped but also defined the realms of possibility within such terrain. In their roles as both…

Over the past several decades, millions of digital objects of significant scientific, economic, cultural, and historic value have been published and distributed to libraries and archives on removable media. Providing long-term access to these documents, media files, and software executables is an increasingly complex task because of dependencies…

The ARL Partnerships Program was created to enhance diversity in research libraries and allied associations. The goal was to actively engage more libraries and library-related organizations in advancing diversity initiatives. This compilation of diversity programs and activities highlights the efforts of libraries and library associations…

This document is an annual guide that serves as the organizational handbook and directory of the Bibliographic Instruction Section (BIS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). It contains five sections: the organizational structure of the BIS, procedural information such as bylaws and the responsibilities of officers and…

Preservation efforts are needed immediately to save a quarter of all the volumes housed in research libraries. These books are turning to dust because alum sizing was introduced into the paper-making process in the mid-1800s. The destruction of some books can be reversed through deacidification. The content of other books can be saved only by…

This guide of the Bibliographic Instruction Section (BIS) of the Association of College and Resource Libraries (ACRL) serves as the organizational handbook and directory of BIS officers and committee members. The handbook opens with a description of the organizational structure of BIS. BIS is composed of an Executive Committee, an Advisory…