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Provides information on Web sites offering updates of financial news and information causing threat to business sections of newspapers. Factors which causes the threat to newspaper businesses; Changes in the business section of `Tribune' newspaper; Challenges to be faced by newspaper editors covered by the agreement between Apple Computer and Power Computing. INSETS: Stock migrations.;Web alternatives to newspaper business sections..

Presents updates pertaining to libraries in the United States as of November, 1998. Sentencing of Hardy Franklin, former director of the District of Columbia Public Library for double-billing the city's library system and the American Library Association; State librarian Virginia Lowell's cancellation of Hawaii's controversial contract with Ameritech Library Services, suppliers of the library's Dynix computer system; Appointment of Bart Kane as director of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System in Hyattsville, Maryland.

Reports on status of the District of Columbia Public Library as of December 1997. The library's attempts to recover from harsh criticism of its services; Details of its 1998-1999 budget requests; The series of public forums taking place to publicize the library's needs.

Presents a guide to the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference taking place in Chicago, Illinois, from June 22 to 28, 1995. List of talks arranged by topic. INSETS: Dining with the authors.;Notable special events.;First forum.;Anniversary bashes.

Presents news that may be of interest to librarians and libraries in the United States. Arson at Los Angeles Public Library in California; Proposal to convert a vacant building in Chicago, Illinois' Loop into a central library; Closure of Santa Monica Public Library in California.

Discusses basic considerations in making reengineering decisions concerning material-control departments. Evolution of the department; Justification of a material-control department; Existence of the department in the engineering/procurement/construction industry; Functions and structure of the department.

Focuses on online tracking tools that enhance reporting in the United States. Relevance of push technology to working editors and reporters; Automation of delivery of news and information of special interest to individuals.

Examines the competition in the online newspaper market. `Chicago Tribune's alliance with several local publishing and media organizations; Advantage of newspapers over online competitors for local advertising and readers; Need for newspapers to make strategic shifts and invest inc hanging their portfolio of skills.

Focuses on the efforts of journalism schools to prepare students for an increasingly multimedia profession. Creation of new curricula; Changes that prompt schools to teach a variety of entrepreneurial skills; Role of journalists as autonomous news providers; Expansion of courses on freelancing; Students' interest in starting their own magazines; Role played by journalistic subcontractors.

Focuses on the Newark (N.J.) Public Library's partnership with the Prudential Foundation and the Newark Public Schools to reintroduce Saturday branch hours and support a library-skills curriculum. Amount of the Prudential Foundation's grant; Impact of educator's focus on research-based student assignments.

Reports on the victory of Los Angeles, California school-library advocates in convincing the board of education to begin funding the purchase of library books at the district level and to bolster staffing of elementary-school libraries.

Outlines the case of Patricia Doyle, a Jacksonville (Florida) Public Library branch manager suspended after a dispute with the National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP). Background of the dispute; Contested reasons for Doyle's suspension; Doyle's response; Response of representatives of NAAWP; Hearing date.

Reports that librarians at the Boulder Public Library in Colorado have modified a selection policy by adding Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Bobbsey Twins titles to the children's collection. Acquisition of Sweet Valley High and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series; News story that ran in the "Rocky Mountain News" and caused public reaction to a library policy that will not carry "racist, sexist" books; Remarks from library director Marcelee Gralapp.

Reports that a conflict over the use of the name U.S.S. Liberty Memorial Library has tainted efforts to raise private funds for the construction of a public library building in Grafton, Wisconsin. Cost of the building; Detractors' claim that the name signals anti-Jewish sentiment; Grafton Public Library's need for a new building; Move by fundraisers to grant naming privileges to whoever donated at least 250,000 dollars.

Reports that people who were angered by the removal of the sex-education books 'It's Perfectly Normal' and 'It's Absolutely Amazing' from the Montgomery County Library System in Texas have formed a grassroots organization called Mainstream Montgomery County. Number of people in support of the books; Remarks from Mainstream cofounder Ann Bayerkohler.

Discusses plans by patrons of the Lincolnwood, Illinois Public Library to run a candidate against library board president Barbara Balbirer. Firing of director Kellie Flynn by the board of trustees; Attempts by residents to have Kellie Flynn reinstated; Coverage of the personnel debate in local media; Statement from Balbirer about Flynn.

Reports that the .us Internet country domain was released for sale to the American public. Concerns of the American Library Association about commercializing .us domains to relieve the overcrowding of the .com domain; Comments of Claudette Tennant of the .US Policy Council; Consideration by Congress of bills to create virtual neighborhoods where content could be segregated by subject.

Focuses on the launch of the North American Campaign to Protect Children Online by the Internet Content Rating Association (IRCA). Effort to encourage Web sites to allow ICRA to rate their content; How the ICRA system works; Reservations expressed by Judith Krug, director of the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom; Erroneous blocking of SafeSurf URL by TeleGlobe; Challenges to the Children's Internet Protection Act by ALA and others.

Reports on lawsuits brought against public libraries in Florida and North Carolina by the legal defense group Liberty Counsel which allege breach of First Amendment rights. Decision of Liberty Counsel founder Mathew Staver to take legal action because the libraries did not allow faith-based programs in their meeting rooms; Order of Pensacola City Manager Tom Bonfield to remove the West Florida Regional Library's restrictions on religious and political meetings.

Reports on complaints against the United States Department of Defense for subscribing to school-district Internet-use logs amassed by N2H2 to compile information on students surfing habits. Filing of a Freedom of Information Act by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC); Opinion that the act is an invasion of children's right to privacy; Comments by N2H2 that it compiles information on Internet usage to help teachers use the Internet in education.

Reports on an ordinance passed by the Jefferson Parish Council in Louisiana which tightens penalties for viewing obscene or sexually explicit material on library computers. Possibility of a fine or jail sentence for those convicted; Procedure by which librarians are to report the patron, including confirmation by a co-worker that the material is offensive; Possibility that the ordinance will be argued against.

Reports on policy changes in the Bedford Park Library District in Illinois and the Pauline Haass Public Library in Sussex, Wisconsin. End to a Bedford Park policy, which barred visitors under the age of sixteen after three in the afternoon unless they were cardholders; Modification of a Pauline Haass policy, which now bars unescorted minors who require continual staff intervention.

Presents several briefs pertaining to library censorship of materials. The decision of the executive board of the Emily Willston Memorial Library in Easthampton, Massachusetts to retain its age-neutral video lending policy; How the school board of the Limestone County School District in Alabama voted against banning the novel 'The Catcher in the Rye,' by J.D. Salinger; Decision of Arlington Independent School in Texas' District Superintendent Mac Bernd to limit circulation of the book 'We All Fall Down'; Others.

Discusses remarks made by Janet Parshall of the Family Research Council regarding documentation of pornography access on library computers. Her opinion that the American Library Association (ALA) is attempting to hinder such information from being accessed; Similar comments made by David Burt at ALA's Freedom of Information Day festivities; Comments by ALA President-elect Nancy Kranich.

Focuses on the petition drives of two Michigan chapters of the American Family Association concerning filtered Internet service. Controversy of whether public libraries in Holland and Hudsonville should filter material considered harmful to minors from every workstation but one; Background on passage of the two bills in November 1999.

Describes the redesign of the truck loading dock at the offices of the `Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' newspaper in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Strategic shifts in the ways the newspaper was being called on to serve advertisers; Difficulties encountered by the paper in its dock operations; Changing needs of readers.

Mentions how 4th-grader Kirstin Shipp collected thousands of books for an Oklahoma school library that was destroyed by a tornado. Arrangement of the delivery to the Orlando-Mulhall School from Columbia, Maryland; Role of Kirstin's mother, Roberta, in helping her develop the project.

Focuses on the efforts by Filtering Facts President David Burt to force libraries to turn over documentation of complaints about library patrons accessing pornographic or sexually explicit material on public Internet terminals. Freedom of Information Act requests received public libraries to release incident reports; Surveying done by Bert; Possible funding for the survey including the Family Research Council; Outlook for other surveys.

Focuses on the Censorware Project's report, `Censored Internet Access in Utah Public Schools and Libraries,' on the SmartFilter blocking software. The number of sites blocked from September 10 to October 10, 1998; Sites such as the Hasbro toymaker Web site and the Starr Report.

Focuses on the San Diego, California voters' defeat of Proposition L on March 2, 1999. How the measure would have financed the holdings and technology of the San Diego County Library system; Speculation on reasons for the defeat; Other finance news in California counties affecting school and local libraries.

Reports on the indictment of Sharon Roxan Hobbs, the former business manager of the Kurth Memorial Library in Lufkin, Texas. Charges of embezzlement; What will happen if she is found guilty; Comments from the library's attorney Walter Borgfeld.

Comments on the plans in California to build a joint university-main public library facility on the San Jose State University Campus. Plan opposed by university faculty; Protest rally organized by Save Our University Library organization; Comments of professor Bruce Reynolds to `American Libraries.'

Reports that Jane Rustin, director of the Allegany County, Maryland, Library has submitted her resignation. Reasons for her resignation being the approval of filtering software on children's computers; Installation of the filtering software stemming from a complaint filed by Pastor Lee Capper.

Deals with the importance of readership to newspapers and its advertisers according to Jayne Zenaty Spittler, senior vice president and global media research director at Starcom Worldwide. Considerations in providing readership information.

Discusses the need implications of interactive media on journalistic writing. Need for journalists to develop sensibilities different from those in traditional journalism; Limitless capacity available in cyberspace; Expansion and reconfiguration of news coverage.

Projects the difficulty of newspaper companies to hire employees as technologies lower the barriers to entry to all sorts of interactive publishing ventures. Preference of college students to work for foundations and special interest groups due to their interesting Web sites; Employment trends of graduates from journalism and communications program.

Evaluates changes in newspaper hiring and recruitment brought about by the explosive growth in the number of size of interactive projects by newspaper companies. Job opportunities for journalists who are adept at new media; Age range of employees hired by newspapers; Emphasis on interpersonal and teamwork skills.

Focuses on the lack of interest libraries across the nation are reporting concerning the Internet release of Kenneth Starr's report on the investigation of United States President Bill Clinton. The September 11, 1998 release of the report over the Internet by the House of Representatives; The significant delays in accessing the report attributed to non-library use; Inquires librarians have reported receiving from media; The Oklahoma state library offering a downloadable Zip file of the report. INSET: Report Draws Record Numbers to LC's Web Site, by G.F..

Presents news briefs pertaining to libraries in the United States as of November, 1998. Increased mold and humidity forcing the closure of Bonita Springs Public Library in Florida; Fall auction advertised for the Des Plaines Public Library building in Des Plaines, Illinois; Phillips University's sale of its collection, furniture and equipment to the Zollars Memorial Library and the education curriculum lab; The New York Public Library's receipt of a $1.75-million commitment from the State Assembly for renovations.

Presents information on the controversy over the `Religion and the Founding of the American Republic,' exhibit of the Library of Congress. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State stating that curator James Huston was offering a partisan perspective; Comments from Barry Lynn of Americans United; Huston's paper describing Thomas Jefferson's position on nonsectarianism and the reaction of conservative Christian leaders.

States that the Nebraska Library Association, as one of some 30 organizations forming the Nebraskans for Good Life (NGL) coalition, filed a suit to keep a proposed budget-capping constitutional amendment off the November 3, 1998 ballot. Concerns of NGL members; Details about the Business Summit measure.

Focuses on protest mail sent to American Library Association (ALA) Executive Director William R. Gordon. The messages asking him to change the ALA stance against using Internet filters to protect children in libraries; The number of letters from Florida and California; Description of the computer-generated mailing of form letters; Brief description of Coral Ridge Ministries President D. James Kennedy's efforts to persuade Gordon.

Discusses the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Committee concerning the University of California/Berkeley Library. The decision to increase funding for the library over the next three years; How the library ranks according to the Association of Research Libraries; Why the committee felt that the library's budget was not consistent with its goals; Debate over how the money will be spent.

Focuses on Hardy R. Franklin, for theft and mail fraud in January 1998, only a year after retiring from his directorship of the District of Columbia Public Library. Details of the charges; Comments from his lawyer, Lawrence Barcella; How Franklin has also been named in a civil sexual harassment suit by Assistant Director for Library Services Brenda Johnson and Head of Branch Services June Sweeney.

Reports on the resignation of Brighton Michigan Area District Library Director David Pauli. Pauli being the fourth director of that library district to resign in a five year time period; Pauli's resignation being related to micromanagement by two of the library trustees.

Reports how police are able to trap e-mail as a way of locating suspects who use e-mail. The capture of two fugitives; Tracing e-mail to public library computers.

Reports on the problems of the District of Columbia Public Library as of June 1996. The investigation of retired director Hardy Franklin for the misappropriation of travel funds; Federation of Friends President Melissa Kundstadter's denouncement of the library system; The presence of many long overdue bills; Procurement problems; Kundstadter's recommendations for improving the library.

Announces the April 8, 1997 government audit of the District of Columbia Public Library's, in Washington, D.C., financial books despite the board's refusal. Comments from Melissa Kunstadter, president of the 26-branch system's Federation of Friends; Why Kunstadter initiated the audit.

Reports on the retirement of Hardy Franklin as director of the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL). Community response; Response from the `Washington Post' newspaper to allegations of sexual harassment against Franklin; Comments from DCPL board president Joyce Clements-Smith and DCPL attorney Greg Lattimer about the allegations; Clements-Smith's recruitment of a successor for Franklin.

Looks at the damage done to Olympic College Learning Resources Center in Bremerton, Washington as a result of harsh weather in December 1996. The collapse of a roof; Comments from Assistant Director Ruth M. Ross; Efforts to repair the damage; Details on less serious damage suffered by other libraries in nearby states.