Carefully orchestrated public relations and publicity campaign at Free Library of Philadelphia motivated an estimated 35,000 patrons to return almost 160,000 overdues during "no fines" week. Coverage by radio stations, newspapers, and television aided recovery of materials including rare 1910 score of a Rachmaninoff symphony which was 31…

Discussion of popularity of romance fiction at a small public library notes origins of the paperback collection, donations by patrons and publishers, categories and representative titles (Harlequins, romantic suspense, historical novels), cataloging and preparation of paperbacks for the shelves, reader preferences, and the place of romantic novels…

Beginning in 1975, reference librarians in the Orlando (Florida) Public Library system volunteered to take part in individual videotaping sessions to see, (1) whether videotape self-evaluation could be done without disruption of service, and (2) whether videotape self-evaluation could improve public service. (Author/PF)

This digest argues that free, public libraries foster and fortify democracy and democratic citizenship. Because libraries offer services and materials representing many points of view, they allow citizens to fulfill their civic and personal responsibilities and to exercise their liberties. Particularly for former communist countries, libraries can…

The four papers contained in this volume were presented at the August 1994 meetings of the American Statistical Association as a session titled, "Public Policy and Data Comparability: New Interest in Public Library Data." The first paper, "Public Library Statistics: Two Systems Compared" (Mary Jo Lynch), describes two systems…

Published yearly and based on requests by adolescents, this document provides a list of approximately 1,250 books in the New York Public Library for teenagers; each source is followed by a brief description. New titles for 1994 are marked with an asterisk. Some of the subjects covered under five broad divisions (the creative spirit, science,…

This handbook is designed to be used as a quick reference and to provide Nevada public library trustees with basic information for helping Nevada public libraries increase their services to meet the informational, educational, and recreational needs of the people of Nevada. The handbook consists of the following chapters: Take Time to Learn the…

This publication is the first of several planned reports for the Literacy in Libraries across America (LILAA) initiative, a four-year study that will explore the efforts of five leading public library-based literacy programs to improve learner persistence through a variety of programmatic, operational, and support service strategies. The five…

The author in this article surveys action being taken in selected countries to make effective use of the newer media for adult education and shows that public libraries are not yet fully utilizing all the forms of communication media at their disposal. (8 references) (Author/SJ)

Some have proposed funding of library services through user fees, but their assumptions are anachronistic and wrong. Rather, drastic changes need to be in the direction of more public support. (CH)

A progress report to the Public Library Association from the Task Forces of its Standards Committee is presented under the following headings: Introduction, Task force on adult services working paper, Task force on young adult services working paper, and Task force on children's services working paper. (SJ)

Suggestions for enticing the public into libraries are presented. (1 reference) (SM)

This is the revision of the 1949 Unesco public library manifesto which was prepared by the Public Libraries Section of the International Federation of Library Associations for International Book Year. (SJ)

Questionnaires completed by library catalog users revealed that catalogs are more widely used in academic libraries than in public libraries, especially at the county level. Guidance in use of the catalog by librarians promotes use by library patrons. Reasons for non-use and methods of using the catalog were surveyed. (4 references) (SJ)