As I approach my thoughts on faith and the adult learning I will concentrate my deliberations on faith, spirituality and dissonance, and the adult learner as reported in in-person dialogs selected from four studies (Shirk, 1990, 1998, 2005). Consideration will be given to the sociopsychological aspects of and the costs and benefits related to…

In recent years public libraries have experimented with user-generated or community-contributed content through the interactive tools of Web 2.0. For some commentators this not just establishes a new relationship between libraries and their publics, but signals the end of information hegemony and an "expert paradigm". Such claims need to…

Premier League Reading Stars (PLRS) is an educational project that harnesses the motivational power of football to encourage families to enjoy reading. It targets those hard to reach groups in society who may not have shown an interest in reading, but who do have a passion for football. PLRS has been running since 2003 following the creation of a…

Self-service is a hit. From gas stations to banks to grocery stores--it has become table stakes for retailers who aim to satisfy an increasingly independent consumer. Libraries are no exception, and, in fact, with their card catalog past, they may well have been in the vanguard in enabling customers to find what they want on their own. Card…

Turkey is one of the ancient areas of the Western world. It has been a crossroads of culture throughout its rich history. Its art and architecture have been influenced by powers such as the Byzantine Empire, the Roman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. The history of Turkey's libraries goes back to the second century B.C. according to the…

As library collections increasingly become digital, libraries are faced with many challenges regarding the acquisition and management of electronic resources. Some of these challenges include copyright and fair use, the first-sale doctrine, licensing versus ownership, digital preservation, long-term archiving, and, most important, the issue of…

The public computing center offers an economical and environmentally friendly model for providing additional public computer access when and where it is needed. Though not intended to be a replacement for a full-service branch, the public computing center does offer a budget-friendly option for quickly expanding high-demand services into the…

Jasper County Public Library in Indiana had started using EngagedPatrons.org (EP) in 2007. EP is a low-cost technology solution providing online events calendars, RSS feeds, database support, and other web services to connect libraries to their users. It was created in 2006 by Glenn Peterson, who also designs the feature-rich websites for…

It is no secret that library budgets are in a downward spiral like the rest of the economy. The recent annual budget survey by the "Library Journal" indicates that per capita funding for libraries will decline 1.6%, and total library budgets will be reduced by 2.6% in FY 2010. Librarians are all too familiar with this bad news, and some of them…

The latest and most comprehensive assessment of public librarians' education and career paths to date, this important volume reports on a large-scale research project performed by authors Jose-Marie Griffiths and Donald W. King. Presented in collaboration with the Office for Research and Statistics (ORS), the book includes an examination of trends…

Children's and young adult librarians are crucial links to effective learning for students. This straightforward handbook is filled with nuts-and-bolts advice on the best ways to help young people with their homework, no matter what the assignment. Carol F. Intner, a certified English teacher and experienced tutor, concentrates on the practical,…

Patient activation is a new term for a perennial problem. People know what they need to do for their health: exercise, eat right, and get enough rest--but how are they motivated to actually do these things? This is what patient activation is. From this author's vantage point as a medical librarian, public libraries are well-placed to be part of…

The author's first "real job" when she was fresh out of library school was working as a leave replacement for an elementary school media specialist. One of her first tasks as the interim media specialist was to help organize the fourth grade science fair. Using her recently acquired library school skills, she decided to call the local public…

In 1998, Nancy Pearl and Chris Higashi, librarians working in the Washington Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library (SPL), had a brainstorm. Challenged with a grant to develop new audiences for literature, they were intrigued with the power of books to unite diverse audiences. With that in mind, they expanded the book club concept to…

The study is an evaluation of an employability training programme provided by Inverclyde Libraries in West Central Scotland and the role of information literacy within the training programme. Inverclyde is an area with high unemployment and pockets of multiple deprivation. Modern, applicable skills are also lacking. The findings are based on…