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Presents news items on libraries and librarians in the U.S. as of September 15, 1988. Death of Karl Nyren, founding editor of ' Library Hotline' and editor of ' Library Journal' for 20 years; Response of the British Library to the Green Paper of the Office of Arts and Libraries; Approval of the Second White House Conference on libraries.

This article recalls issues and events that impacted library science service in the U.S. during 1989, including actions taken by the Library of Congress (LC) regarding the MARC database and the efforts of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) to address the continuing serials pricing spiral. The Library of Congress may not be officially the national library, but its influence and its policy decisions affect virtually every library in this country and many of those abroad. It has undergone an internal self-study with implications for the entire library community. It eliminated some longstanding services and attempted to charge for a database built in large part by the people and institutions to which it was sold. LC has increased its prices for the MARC database by about 20 percent. MARC, an acronym for machine-readable cataloging, comprises the cataloging records for all the books and other library materials cataloged by LC and by those libraries contributing to the MARC database. LC attempted to license MARC database to libraries. Librarians have conflicting views on the MARC database licensing. Meanwhile, the ARL opened its meetings to the press this year. It has launched a multifaceted program aimed at mobilizing scholars, librarians, publishers and federal agencies to deal with the economic crisis caused by ever-rising prices in serials. ARL also created an office whose function it will be to communicate the nature of the problem and to develop services that deal with it. INSETS: People;Obituaries 1989..

Profiles Elaina Norlin, undergraduate services librarian at the University of Arizona Library in Tuscon, Arizona. Her activity in the Council on Diversity at the university and with national library associations on strategies for achieving diversity; Research she has done on Web site usability, conference papers she has delivered, and articles she has written.

The author discusses the status of the library as a public good. He describes the turmoil caused by the divisive administration of U.S. President Donald Trump which has trapped some libraries and librarians. He emphasizes the need for librarians to always remember the importance of their mission to help provide general information to all.

Discusses problems at the Central Library of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library in Atlanta, Georgia. Comments by director Mary Kay Hooker; Tight budgets which have fostered racially tinged board disputes over resource allocations; Reverse discrimination lawsuit won by eight white librarians; Historic background on the facility; Materials allocation budget; Charges of micromanagement. INSET: A Curious Reorganization.

Discusses employment in the library industry in the United States. Effect of the economic downturn in the United States on the library industry; Salaries of librarians; Discussion of American Library Association library and information science students; Influence of geography on librarian salaries.

This article presents the insights of American Library Association president Richard Dougherty about library issues in the national media in the U.S. According to Dougherty librarians can no longer be generous with their funds because of strained budgets. Librarians must begin to use the research they have conducted on journal use to make some hard choices. In making them, librarians can improve the performance of libraries and maybe even force some publishers to rethink their pricing policies. The comments of Dougherty on serials crisis were taken from the article about the authority of librarians to cancel subscriptions to seldom-used journals in the January 19, 1991 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. Librarians function as the nations information professionals by advocating, preserving, protecting and defending the exercise of free expression. Librarians believe in its importance and power. The restrictions covering the war operations threaten the ability of librarians to provide the needed information now and in the future. The insights of Dougherty were taken from the article concerning the Persian Gulf Conflict in the February 2, 1991 issue of the New York Times.

Part I. Presents observations of a delegation of library professionals from the U.S., in their tour of libraries in China. Application of new technologies by librarians; Training of staff to meet the demands of the reading public; Strategies to cope with the gap in collection development.

Presents letters from readers of ' Library Journal' concerning issues covered in the previous issues of the United States periodical. Measure of a librarian; Protection of legitimate users of libraries; Online searching by library users.

Presents news briefs on public and academic libraries worldwide. Reopening of the Central Library of the Berkeley Public Library, California, following renovations; Approval for the New York Center for Books and Reading; Increase in librarians' pay in New South Wales, Australia; Severe cuts in academic and public libraries in South Africa; Others.

Profiles executive librarian Silvia Watson of Highsmith Company, who left a career as an academic librarian to create a new corporate library. Way that the information center Watson developed has become an important part of the company; Work of Highsmith Co. in supplying office equipment and other materials to the library market; Graduate studies of Watson at Drexel and the University of Wisconsin at Madison; View that Watson's efforts at the company have brought new respect for the ability of librarians to provide information which will build business and maintain a competitive position; Statement of Watson that some school and public librarians she deals with are incompetent.

Comments on key issues concerning libraries and librarians in the U.S. Key issues of interest; Analysis of pertinent issues and relevant topics; Implications on libraries and library science.

Reports that the Selection Consulting Center has been retained by a consortium of libraries in California. Initiatives to bring personnel selection policies in line with anti-discrimination laws; Efforts to define the entry-level skills of librarians; Libraries participating in the initiative.

Features Janice R. Franklin, director of the University Library and Learning Resources Center at the Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama, and Loretta O'Brien Parham, director of Harvey Library at Hampton University in Virginia. Educational attainment; Professional postings; Efforts of Franklin and Parham to create a mutual assistance program for the librarians at historically black colleges and universities.

Presents news briefs related to librarians. Selection of Paula K. Alston as Assistant Director of Libraries and Research Services of the Chesapeake Public Library System in Virginia; Announcement that Jennifer Barager joined the Libraries/Academic Information Systems Development Team at Columbia University Libraries in New York City; Resignation of Carson Block as Technology Consultant at High Plains Regional Library Service Systems in Greeley, Colorado; Other news.

Presents news briefs concerning libraries and librarians in the United States as of January 1988. Inclusion of a resolution passed by the Chicago Public Library Board of Directors in Illinois to name the proposed central library the Harold Washington Library Center; Candidacy of William H. Roberts III for the position of treasurer of the American Library Association (ALA).

Editorial. Comments on factors that would improve the conditions of libraries and librarians in the United States in 1988. Inclusion of more funds for library budgets, salaries and book budgets; Call for a U.S. moratorium on security classification and government withholding of information.

Presents information about appointments, retirements and deaths of people working in the libraries of the United States. Appointment of Frank Fabry as the Library Conservator at Case Western Reserve University Libraries in Cleveland; Retirement of Susanna Alexander, Associate State Librarian of Missouri since 1966; Death of Edith Evelyn Estabrooks who retired from Library Development.

Comments on the role of American library assistants. Minimal opportunities for training, development, and career advancement; Attitudes of librarians toward assistants and mistreatment in hierarchical organizations; Support organizations, such as the Council on Library/Media Technicians.