Describes the range of products and services offered by VTLS, a company that offers comprehensive, integrated library automation software and customer support. VTLS's growth and development in the United States and abroad is described, and nine sidebar articles detail system features and applications in public, academic, and virtual libraries. (20…

Discusses the Government Printing Office (GPO) plan for the transition to an electronic Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) that, through a network of partnerships comprised of the GPO, the National Archives and Records Administration, federal agencies, and FDLP libraries, will increase public access to government information. (JAK)

Electronic publishing has been an agent for change in not just how one publishes but in what one publishes. Describes HyperCite, a joint project with the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) to create INSPEC database. Highlights include the database; the research phase (cross database searching and new interface); and what and how much was…

In an interview, Lucinda Roy, a professor of English at Virginia Tech who teaches online courses in creative writing, the civil rights movement, and literature, discusses the risks and dynamics of this style of teaching and the need to maintain some personal interaction with students. She notes that technology liberates learners, giving them a…

Lists media-related journals, books, ERIC documents, journal articles, and nonprint resources published in 1999-2000. The annotated entries are classified under the following headings: artificial intelligence; computer assisted instruction; distance education; educational research; educational technology; information science and technology;…

Discusses issues of quality in public libraries in light of changes in services resulting from social and economic changes. Highlights include quality strategies, the customer service revolution, anticipating new markets, defining library values and missions, information technology, training staff for the future, funding, partnerships, and…

Suggests ways to stretch media center budgets for technology, based on experiences at Winona Middle School (Minnesota). Topics include keeping statistics, hardware purchase and warranty information, centralizing purchases, planning for the reallocation of hardware and software, creative financing, working with business and community groups, staff…

Examines the decision-making process of purchasing CD-ROMs for libraries. Evaluation criteria include hardware requirements, ease of installation, adequacy of documentation, user friendliness of displays, ease of searching, frequency of updates, downloading and printing capabilities, technical support, and vendor reputation. Identifies sources and…

Describes the Vermont Automated Libraries System and the use of information technology. Topics include rural public library access; software; multitype library cooperation, including public, school, academic, and special libraries; Internet access; government information; public user access; system design; document delivery capabilities; and…

A survey of academic librarians in New York State (n=139) regarding their attitudes toward the Internet as a reference tool creating user and nonuser profiles incorporating gender, age, experience, access, and training. Researchers examined factors contributing to successful Internet use and to nonuse and made recommendations on how to integrate…

The new millennium marks a time for reassessment of the field of comparative education. Comparative education needs to address the widening interest in comparative and international research, the impact of computerized information technologies, the increased recognition of the cultural dimension of education, and the influence of globalization…

Presents findings from the "School Library Journal" survey of school library expenditures for FY 1997-98. Data include: budget allocation; salaries; library collection; technology; staff and certification; access to basic electronic resources; library policy; planning and communication between library media specialists and teachers; and…

Argues that school library media specialists can promote technology use by introducing the Internet as an instructional tool and providing comfortable learning environments. Discusses directions for lifelong learning: individualize opportunities, build learning communities, structure initial exploration, encourage thoughtful evaluation of…

The digitization of library materials has had a tremendous impact on libraries. By using the Internet, readers can access digital library materials from any place in the world. The BMCC Library started several programs to provide more digital materials to its patrons in the forms of electronic books, periodicals, full-text materials, and webpage…

One of the most important decisions to be made in a face-to-face collaborative learning activity is how the participating groups are composed. These compositions produce different learning and social interaction results. The ability to change the group member composition in real time and dynamically enables the leveling up of learning results and…