With the pileup of responsibilities that range from programming to outreach to web management, more and more librarians are finding vendor-based book selection enticing. Most librarians see vendor-based selection as an option to relieve the pressure and still provide good collections to their patrons. However, using vendors to help facilitate…

The year in architecture offered grand facades, creative collaborations, and calamities overcome and viewed as opportunities. This article features 168 public building projects and 21 academic facilities completed between July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2007 that provide a glimpse of the future. Many libraries reported here achieved Leadership in…

This report is the result of the statutory mandate by the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) to promote activities to extend the nation's library and information handling capability as essential links in the emerging global information infrastructure. In a study to inventory the challenges related to libraries' roles…

In 1903, Andrew Carnegie provided the community of Lincoln, Illinois, with a $25,000 grant to build a public library. The purpose of this study was to determine if the Lincoln Public Library conforms to the general characteristics of Carnegie public libraries as defined by George S. Bobinski, a leading researcher in the area of Carnegie public…

Each of the 39 children's craft projects included in this document was selected because: (1) it is appropriate for a library program and helps to further the goals of children's services; (2) it may be successfully completed by children 3 to 12 years old with a minimum of adult help; (3) it requires only inexpensive and commonly available…

The duty of a public institution to make available all literature, even what may seem valueless or dangerous at any particular moment, was called in question by the sensitivity of one individual to unfavorable personal comment. (Author)

A program of the Cambria County Library System, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to provide toys and activities for preschoolers is described. (PF)

Local government is not able to bear the burden of financing city libraries. Financial support from the state and federal governments and resource sharing among libraries are necessary. (PF)

Three studies of public library users are compared and similarities noted in the nature of library users and their behavior. Extended education and high socio-economic grading are seen to be connected with intensive use of a range of libraries and with book ownership. (Author)

This annotated bibliography lists books which cover the entire range of the history of philosophy and represent the major philosophers and major movements in philosophy. Designed for use by public libraries, it could also be useful in high school libraries. The books listed fall into two categories: (1) major philosophical works written by major…

The city librarian sketches the history of the San Francisco public library. (PF)

The introduction of toys reversed the decline of the Valley Falls Branch Library, Cumberland, Rhode Island. (PF)

A real community program needs not only programs but a new perspective on the total program of the library aimed at joining the theoretical to the practical, with a shift in accent to the needs of the patron as an individual. (Author/PF)

Suggests people in the community who may be sources of information: mailmen, bartenders, policemen, cabdrivers, number runners, and countless others. (LS)

Libraries must do some research before trying to establish a community information center. Librarians should consider feasibility, identify the target population, inventory community resources, define information needs, and provide for continuing study while the service is in operation. (LS)