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The article reports on the circulating adaptive toy collection at the Palm Harbor Library which aims to help enhance learning of children with special needs through play. It is mentioned that it is the first of its kind in any public library in Florida and has been duplicated in several library systems in the Tampa Bay area. The toys' mechanics and effects on children such as the special lights and textures are also discussed.

This article seeks to understand the current state of the field of special collections library administration in the United States. Using a dataset gathered through publicly available information about special collections directors from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), Independent Research Libraries Association (IRLA), and the Oberlin Group institutional members, the authors explore the educational backgrounds of directors, the types of positions they held prior to taking on their current roles, and the effect of gender on leadership advancement. This article also discusses the similarities and differences between institution types as well as promotions within institutions and across types of institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the level of undergraduates' satisfaction and their perceptions towards library resources and services provided by the Science Library, University of Peradeniya. The survey research method was adopted to achieve the above objectives. A questionnaire was administered to 442 undergraduates of the Faculty of Science. 371 duly filled questionnaires were returned, were then analyzed. The findings revealed that more than 60% of the undergraduates visited the library daily and weekly, while more than 80% of them visited the library for multiple purposes. Regarding the available resources, the majority of the undergraduates were satisfied with the library book collection, periodicals and available magazines. Yet, only 39% and 32% of students reported that they were satisfied with e-resources and audiovisual materials available in the library respectively. Considering the library services, the majority of respondents were satisfied with lending, reference, referral and photocopying services. However, 11% of them were not satisfied, where as 13% of the students were not even aware of online services provided by the library. Further, the findings demonstrated that limited number of computers, unavailability of Wi-Fi facilities, unawareness of the library website, difficulties of accessing the Internet and searching research articles were the main reasons for students' dissatisfaction. However, the majority of the undergraduates praised the library staff for offering an impressive service. The results proved that undergraduates have positive perceptions towards the library and its services. Based on the findings, some suggestions were made to increase user satisfaction and to enhance the library resources and service quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of advanced IT applications has enabled the university libraries to provide innovative library services to their patrons. While the general students are getting all required services from the libraries, the students with visual impairment have continued to face challenges in accessing the library collection. The technology to help overcome these challenges is available today in the form of assistive technology (AT). Unfortunately, a majority of the university libraries in the country do not have this technology in their libraries due to which a huge amount of information stored in the books and journals subscribed by them has become out of reach of the students with visual impairment. The present study was conducted to ascertain the status of AT to support students with visual impairment in university libraries. The study which has covered around 185 universities, provides the first systematic exploration of the status of AT in university libraries in India. The major findings of the study in context of university libraries in India are: 12.97 per cent having Braille Books in their collection; 22.70 per cent have made provision for AT for students with visual impairment; 22.70 per cent have accessible library websites; 21.08 per cent have designated staff members to serve the students with disabilities; 22.70 per cent have 'written disability policy or 'documented minutes' related to the 'library services for the students with disabilities'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the web site of The New York Public Library, Digital Collections, available at digitalcollections.nypl.org/divisions/music-division.

There is a trend among academic libraries to increase collaboration between interlibrary loan and collection development to improve patron access to materials and build library collections. Instead of borrowing returnable materials, interlibrary loan may initiate purchases that will become part of the library's collection. This can mean anything from an organizational change combining interlibrary loan with the acquisitions unit or creating new workflows to facilitate purchasing. At the University of North Texas Libraries, the Interlibrary Loan office is a unit of the Access Services Department. Buying instead of borrowing for the ILL unit began with a Demand Driven Acquisitions (DDA) program and has expanded with the establishment of the University of North Texas Libraries' access-based collection development policy. Interlibrary Loan provides “Just-In-Time” (JIT) access to materials not available through regular interlibrary loan sources and adds relevant materials to the Libraries' collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes about the 'Infrastructure facilities in fine arts college libraries in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry states: A case study. The analysis of the study explains about the Books Collections available in the fine arts college Library, Information Facilities and Services in the Library of the Music, Dance and Visual Arts Colleges in Tamilnadu and Pondicherry, Number of Journals subscribed and journal back volumes available by the colleges under study. The study reviled that the library collection of more than 72% of the colleges have more than 5000 books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance of access to video collections and the process to make the collections available within modern discovery layer tools. Topics include video collections are standard part of academic libraries and an important part of the teaching, learning and research process, the limitation in display options for videos, and testing search interfaces is the best way to secure access to video collection.

This essay and checklist document the exhibition Pageant of the Tsars: The Romanov Coronation Albums, held at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens February 16–June 8, 2013. The exhibition focused on the history of the Romanovs through the lens of the coronation albums of the tsars. Based on the collection of five of the seven coronation albums held in the Hillwood library, the exhibition was supplemented with objects from the museum and library collections, loans from other institutions, and electronic versions of the albums available on iPads in the exhibition and via the iBooks store. The show marked the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Romanov dynasty in 1613. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the increasing demand for GIS services and collections in libraries, librarians should use every outreach tool available to reach potential audiences. An annual event, GIS Day has a robust and established range of supporting tools that are easily customized for local use. Effective marketing, including visibility and longevity of Web pages, is an effective tool for increasing awareness of GIS services. This study analyzes content of Web pages to evaluate the levels of participation and promotion of GIS through GIS Day at U.S.-based Association of Research Libraries academic libraries and their host universities. Results indicate a range of involvement, with some libraries participating in numerous events while others are not taking full advantage of this valuable outreach opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a comparative study in which researchers analyzed the relationship between the level of study conducted by student library users and the extent of use of library resources by these students in Nigerian universities in 2004-2005. Researchers were interested in gathering this information in order to help university libraries manage their facilities and resources. Other topics discussed include the value and scope of the research, the implications of the study on Nigerian university library collections, and the recommendation that libraries promote their available resources to capitalize on their collections.

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA''s Terra platform has been widely used in geological and other science studies. In support of ASTER studies, a library of natural and man-made materials was compiled as the ASTER Spectral Library v1.2 and made available from http://speclib.jpl.nasa.gov. The library is a collection of contributions in a standard format with ancillary data from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). A new version of the library (v2.0) is now available online or via CD, which includes major additions to the mineral and rock spectra. The ASTER library provides a comprehensive collection of over 2300 spectra of a wide variety of materials covering the wavelength range 0.4–15.4 µm. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the future condition of the library collections for adults in the U.S. that requires to rethink what will be collected, how to collect and make the collections available. It states that libraries are far from the traditional quite place due to the emergence of technological innovations that allow library users to connect and use all available resources to gain knowledge. The need for librarians to cope up with the technological advances is also emphasized.

Given the capabilities for digitization that have emerged in recent years along with mobile access to the internet, new library and business partnerships are now not only possible but also compelling in various ways. HTML5 web apps now make available library collections that historically have been closed or difficult to access. A partnership involving The British Library, Microsoft and BiblioLabs realizes some of these new potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“From Picas to Pixels” editor Chad Hutchens takes a look into a herbarium library collection that is quickly being digitized and will be available in the new JSTOR Plants database. Dr. Ronald Hartman, curator of the Rocky Mountain Herbarium, discusses the physical collection of thousands of plants, as well as the scope of the collection. Larry Schmidt, science and engineering reference librarian at the University of Wyoming Libraries, talks about digitization efforts and the development of the Rocky Mountain Herbarium online databases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]