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Comic books are now becoming a part of public library collections. In Brazil, public libraries are organizing special branches or departments for comic books, calling them Gibitecas. Discusses the reasons for public libraries to collect comic books, and reviews the range of motives that took Brazilian librarians to provide them to their customers. Also analyses the difficulties for collecting and disseminating comic books, with special attention to the characteristics of comic book publishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews the recently published literature on access versus acquisitions; electronic document delivery and electronic publishing; resource sharing. Considers developments in the Universal Availability of Publications concept, and looks at the interlending of non-print material, especially music. Also reviews copyright, national interlending codes and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on the main types of published information. Use of printed information; Automation of information; Information format; Details on the Internet and online services; Advantages and disadvantages of online information services; Use of the Compact Disk-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM); Advantages and disadvantages of the CD-ROM.

Argues that the much-advocated switch from holdings to access has serious snags where current material is concerned. Libraries should discard most of their stock of older material and provide access to more current material. This requires the existence of a centralized collection of older material available to users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a wide variety of institutional environments and management styles, collection development officers at major research libraries in the USA generally share the same major areas of concern for program administration. Strong support from central library administration is important, and the best environments place a high value on fostering communication and collegiality among staff. Other important elements of an effective program include: dedicated staff positions responsible for selection in major subject areas; an accurate and informative collection-development policy; a detailed budget allocation system, where selection staff have accountability; regular appraisals of approval plan vendors and collection assessment studies; and articulated priorities for preservation. Cites examples of effective practices found at selected institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the OCLC Users' Council meeting of February 5-7, 1996. Issues discussed included nominations for the board of trustees, the OCLC president's report, the Users' Council executive committee report and reports on users of electronic information. Also under discussion were a number of strategies for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a general lack of information on how to acquire materials in African languages outside the countries of origin. However, there are some very well-established mechanisms in collecting this material. Notes the standard current reference sources, blanket and approval plan dealers, bookshops and publishers, printed and online library catalogs and two microform collections. With sufficient time, energy and a reasonable hard currency budget, it is quite possible to develop an African language collection appropriate to local needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Age philosophies are having an increasingly important influence on contemporary life. They offer a challengingly holistic view of human potential, and are available in numerous publications and formats. Public library collections often marginalize New Age materials, and find selecting and acquiring them a challenge. Argues that greater awareness of what such materials have to offer would answer growing demands from users and provide spiritual and cultural benefit for the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the contribution of the library to Old Dominion University's five-year strategic plan, which targeted cultural diversity as one of its eight objectives and included specific statements about library support of this goal. To meet its part, the library created a three-pronged action plan for the selection of videos, development of guides to the collection, and an evaluation of the multicultural collection, the most extensive portion of the project. Explains the choice of university minority and international student populations to assist in prioritizing collection efforts. The actual assessment project was collection-centered; project coordinators identified a series of appropriate bibliographies to compare against the collection as the most practical way to meet defined objectives.The resulting retrospective desiderata list identified resources (once funding became available) to improve both the depth and scope of the library multicultural collections with very little impact on staffing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explains how reference staff undertook an assessment of the 30,000+ volume collection in an attempt to determine whether materials in the Carlson Library reference collection are useful to faculty, staff and students. Culled from periodical use studies, several qualitative and quantitative assessment methods were identified: a count of every item physically handled; short in-house surveys administered randomly to willing library patrons; and a questionnaire distributed to a group of instructional staff. The assessment, which began in 1994, continues, and techniques are repeated as necessary. Additional techniques, such as in-house interviews, will be implemented, giving the reference staff valuable information on the users and the uses of the reference collection. Maintains that the intermediate results have already impacted the materials selected, and predicts that the final results will aid in the development of a current reference collection management policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the implications of the ever-changing technological world on the delivery of reference services. Reframes reference service in terms of staff competences, changing service demands, and technological advances. Urges library organizations to seek solutions through staff development and by developing a firm commitment to service on the users' terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spotlights the Brent libraries' "Beyond the millennium project", planning ahead for the year 2008. Outlines the multicultural nature of the borough, the political context and the library service in general. Highlights the central aim of the project - to put libraries at the heart of local communities - embracing the values of effective service, positive customer involvement, commitment to excellence and imagination. Anticipates that by 2008 libraries will operate seven days a week, offer wide-ranging IT-based services, using the most advanced technologies, and become an enabler of lifelong learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Library of Congress has one of the largest library collections in the world. Describes the catalog, which is available online on the World Wide Web. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counters the argument expressed in an earlier issue of ILDS that electronic document delivery is the answer to readers’ needs. Argues that with over 100,000 books published last year and no sign of any decline in growth, traditional publishing still provides a significant proportion of publishers’ output and readers’ demand. Expresses concern that the existing efficient system of document supply is in danger of being destabilized without due consideration of the consequences. It does not surprise me that Bob Campbell and his colleagues from Blackwell Scientific have an electronically biased view of supplying wine/information to the consumer (ILDSguest editorial Vol. 24 No. 3, 1996). However, I do feel that the product of the vineyard, (information) can be delivered to the consumer (reader) by rather more ways than they describe. In addition, like all analogies, their vinous example seriously oversimplifies the process by which information is delivered. Their editorial is representative of, if rather more amusing than, most of the writing that assumes that electronic document delivery is the answer to readers’ needs. Indeed conventional interlibrary loan/document delivery appears in their view to have little role to play, for they conclude, “where therefore does this leave interlibrary lending? The small university will no longer need to rely on the larger organization for document delivery. Its licence may give access to all the publisher’s list, thus saving the whole academic community the extra cost and delays involved in buying by the glass”. This is a very partial view because it fails to consider the needs of the one person on whom both publishers and libraries rely for their livelihoods - the reader. Consider Charlotte Brontë’s famous reader addressed in her novel Jane Eyrewith the words “Reader, I married him”. That “reader” can buy a perfectly adequate portable... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes some national developments in the interlibrary loans field and various tools of the trade. Highlights relevant case studies and surveys along with examples of co-operation, at various levels. Discusses more contributions to the Access versus Ownership issue and outlines some articles on commercial document delivery. Discusses technological developments concerning electronic journals and the Internet and discusses copyright problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces and analyzes basic library collection management issues regarding electronic journals, including selection, budgeting, policy making, collection evaluation, and preservation/archiving. Argues that staffing and budgeting for electronic journals can be organized on subject-based or format-based approaches, or some combination of both. Electronic journals are selected through the same three-stage process used for print journals: identification, evaluation, and selection. Most of the traditional criteria for print journals are also applicable to electronic journals, but additional criteria are superimposed on them. The cancellation and weeding of electronic journals have not been addressed by the profession, but will assume more significance in the future. There is a need for new client-centered evaluation methodologies that focus on availability and accessibility rather than ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides a brief historical background on why libraries are relevant to Maori. Discusses some of the factors and issues relating to developing Maori collections. Profiles a selection of libraries with Maori collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides an overview of how vendors such as Blackwells have developed services that meet the changes taking place in academic libraries and recommends ways vendors and publishers can better co-operate with libraries to meet their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides a brief historical background on why libraries are relevant to Maori. Discusses some of the factors and issues relating to developing Maori collections. Profiles a selection of libraries with Maori collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EARL (Electronic Access to Resources in Libraries) is a collaborative approach to establishing a national networked information and resource sharing service for public libraries in the UK. This paper provides information on the early stages of EARL during 1994 and 1995 which resulted in a pilot demonstration service being developed as a result of a scoping study. The achievements to date are then outlined and these include membership of EARL by 120 library authorities who use it to provide e-mail facilities, creation of web pages, access to databases and the development of EARLweb which provides a gateway to a number of Internet resources likely to be of use in public libraries. The current work is described including the British Library funded project, Readiness, the work of the Task Groups and collaboration with European partners. In conclusion the challenges presented to EARL members in the future are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides an overview of how vendors such as Blackwells have developed services that meet the changes taking place in academic libraries and recommends ways vendors and publishers can better cooperate with libraries to meet their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Library of Congress has one of the largest library collections in the world. Describes the catalog, which is available online on the World Wide Web. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the development of the British Library's OPAC services leading up to the launch of OPAC 97, offering access to nine million bibliographic records. The article attempts to show the value of a user-centred approach in the project management involved in developing such a service as recommended by Human Computer Interaction (HCI) studies. Evaluation studies of the Online Catalogue, the Network OPAC, a web prototype interface and of OPAC 97 are reviewed briefly and the results discussed in relation to the OPAC 97 project. Although the OPAC 97 interface made use of various HCI recommendations, user feedback sometimes contradicted these in specific instances, revealing the value of detailed user evaluation in developing services. room with its own catalogue only available for consultation in that one reading room in London. The British Museum Catalogue of Printed Books with bibliographic records for acquisitions up to 1975 was converted from catalogue slips and published in printed form which could now be available for use by other libraries more easily, but this did not assist users who wished to make subject enquiries. Blaise, the Library's priced online information retrieval service, was available from 1975 but this was developed for information professionals, offering bulk catalogue record downloading and bibliographic checking. Any reference enquiries had to be carried out by trained library staff on behalf of users. What the Library has attempted to do from 1993 is to offer the Library users themselves access to the collections, especially remote users who cannot visit the reading rooms each day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright is a central issue when considering document supply electronically because actions seen as simple in themselves are technically complex and raise many legal issues. The basic concepts of copyright law apply whatever the situation but trying to map these on to the electric situation can be difficult. Proposals from the European Commission to change the law will make the provision of document supply services even more difficult. The use of vehicles such as the World Wide Web for delivering documents and information generally while offering exciting opportunities, is full of obstacles. Recent legal cases give little reason for optimism in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College library staff must work to bring students and information technology together, especially where college-wide computer literacy courses are not required. Teaching students to use constantly changing computer technology should start from an assessment of their skills, needs, and preferred training methods. However, surveying a student population with a high percentage of commuters risks inaccuracy; if surveys are distributed by mail or in libraries, the survey-takers are often self-selected and thus not representative. One solution is to administer the surveys in the classroom, using a course that most students are required to take. The results of such a survey, conducted at the College of Charleston, reveal a surprising variety of needs and preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collection management grows more complicated each day. The steady growth of publications, publishers and formats coupled with a corresponding decline in budgets requires that librarians make more judicious purchasing decisions. In addition to traditional selection aids, the Web now offers up-to-the-minute tools such as reviews, publisher catalogs and bibliographies. This article identifies and describes various Web-based resources that can help librarians make more informed selection decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the two basic channels of book procurement - the domestic market and imports (either directly or through local bookdealers). The former is the most popular method at present. Acquisition through this method is almost totally directed and controlled by availability of materials in the market, leaving only a limited choice for systematic collection building. Imports through the local bookdealer, favoured by special libraries in the mid-1950s and 1960s, is no more employed owing to red-tapism on the part of the dealer. The direct import system, which has proven beneficial in many respects for university libraries, has also gradually been given up. The reasons include: an uncertain import policy, import restrictions and trade embargoes against some countries because of political and ideological reasons, the fluctuating rate of the Pakistani rupee, hurdles in customs clearance, and, above all, the departure of competent personnel conversant with this kind of work to positions in OPEC countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the difference in what is cataloged and accessible via a link in an online public access catalog record and what is listed on electronic library (EL) Web menus at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Automation of the creation of EL resource pages; Proliferation of metadata formats.

Following the initial success of the eLib Programme for Higher Education libraries in the UK, the most recent phase of funding has been directed at hybrid library and clump projects. A clump is an aggregation of catalogues which may be physical - a traditional union catalogue - or virtual, being created at the time of searching. The most common protocol in use in clumps is Z39.50 which offers opportunities for creating gateways to a range of catalogues, thus allowing simultaneous parallel searching. Four clump projects have been approved by eLib and started work in January 1998: CAIRNS - Co-operative Academic Information Retrieval Network for Scotland; M25 Link: Access to London Libraries; Music Libraries Online (a geographically split subject clump); RIDING: Z39.50 Gateway to Yorkshire Libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staffing costs account for 65 per cent of research libraries' expenditures for interlibrary borrowing. Due to this cost and pressure to provide better access, library administrators are showing an increased interest in unmediated document delivery. In a pilot project at Texas A&M University, faculty and graduate students in the Agricultural Economics Department used ArticleFirst, PapersFirst, and EBSCOdoc as a substitute for traditional interlibrary loan. Participants could order materials not own ed by the three university libraries. Four document suppliers, the British Library Document Supply Centre, EBSCOdoc, ISI's Genuine Article and UMI were used. Users were allowed to select the vendor and method of delivery which included fax, mail, Ariel, and express mail. Data gathered included the usage patterns for the different delivery methods and document suppliers, the costs of items, problems encountered by users, and general information on user satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional work of reference librarians has been greatly impacted by access to electronic publications on the World Wide Web. Reference librarians are also using the Web to create electronic publications for in-library users and Web surfers. By creating HTML documents that provide access to Web and other electronic resources, reference service is extended beyond the physical library and designated reference desk hours, opening the building for 24-hour access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important responsibility of collection development libraries is to ensure that what is being collected is appropriate for the university's curriculum and research needs. Unfortunately the large number of techniques that have been developed to measure collections work better with small college collections. As libraries grow and the range of library materials increase, many of these methods have proved to be inadequate. This study explores the use of statistics from the National Shelflist Count Project to gather enough valid statistical information to adequately assess large research collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Best-Seller Inc. has been a developer of standards-based library automation systems since 1986. Its products have evolved to meet unique challenges worldwide but more specifically those in Canadian library operations especially bilingual collections and access. Best-Seller's third generation system, PortFolio, is developed in JAVA and is entirely Web-based. The PortFolio BestOPAC offers unique ways of linking local collections to electronic resources and multimedia collections. In addition to incorporating all traditional library practices, Best-Seller products include a Legal Deposit subsystem, electronic ordering, links to external accounting systems from Acquisitions, WebExport, a fee-based Z39.50 record download and links to external patron files. Best-Seller is now rapidly expanding its customer base in France while evolving its offerings to support UNICODE, UNIMARC and other features such as sophisticated closed stacks management. Best-Seller customers are public, special and academic libraries in the USA, Canada, France and the West Indies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to build the COPPUL (Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries) virtual library, Simon Fraser University Library (SFU) has co-developed modular integratable holdings display and user requesting software, called GODOT, which can be called from a variety of search engines. GODOT displays holdings for a citation, populates an interlibrary loan form with the citation, and validates patron information; requests are forwarded to the supplying library in a number of formats. It is highly configurable by the borrowing library. SFU also developed a Z39.50 interface (called SLRI) based on the Stanford Gateway Interface to search its BRS databases and other library catalogues; GODOT is invoked from within SLRI. This has enabled SFU users to borrow more than twice as much material without interlibrary loan staff numbers being increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, libraries within all institutions of higher education are viewing serials collection development in a new light. This paper looks at the issues revolving around these new dynamics, including distance education, electronic serials and how librarians should proceed in the near future. Much change is expected in US Copyright law. At the time of writing the US Register of Copyright issued a substantial report on how copyright will be viewed in our new digital era. This paper aims to provide new answers, and ask new questions the library literature has yet to examine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital library research has attracted much attention in the most developed, and in a number of developing, countries. While many digital library research projects are funded by government agencies and national and international bodies, some are run by specific academic and research institutions and libraries, either individually or collaboratively. While some digital library projects, such as the ELINOR project in the UK, the first two phases of the eLib (Electronic Libraries) Programme in the UK, and the first phase of DLI (Digital Library Initiative) in the US, are now over, a number of other projects are currently under way in different parts of the world. Beginning with the definitions and characteristics of digital libraries, as proposed by various researchers, this paper provides brief accounts of some major digital library projects that are currently in progress, or are just completed, in different parts of the world. There follows a review of digital library research under sixteen major headings. Literature for this review has been identified through a search on LISA CD-ROM database, and a Dialog search on library and information science databases, and the resulting output has been supplemented by a scan of the various issues of D-Lib Magazine and Ariadne, and the websites of various organisations and institutions engaged in digital library research. The review indicates that we have learned a lot through digital library research within a short span of time. However, a number of issues are yet to be resolved. The paper ends with an indication of the research issues that need to be addressed and resolved in the near future in order to bring the digital library from the researcher"s laboratory to the real life environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet resources have become a standard part of the resources offered by many libraries. Despite this fact, issues surrounding the selection of these resources, as well as providing access to them through cataloging, continue to present problems for libraries. Since Internet resources are not published or made available to libraries in the same manner as traditional print materials, there are many more factors to be considered in the selection process. The decision to catalog Internet resources presents a number of challenges to libraries as well. Decisions must be made as to what types of Internet resources will receive cataloging, and what information should be included in the bibliographic record. Cataloging decisions are further complicated by the fact that long-standing cataloging conventions do not readily apply to Internet resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fee-based electronic resources such as full-text journals, databases, abstracts, and indexes are widely available for library users. However, scholarly books and reference sources are usually not available in electronic format, and particular disciplines are not significantly represented by available electronic sources. Traditional document delivery serves as a complement to electronic resources, and offers patrons timely access to materials not available in electronic format. The data represent document delivery requests during the academic years 1997-1999 at the Policy Sciences and Economics Library (PSEL), a branch library of the Texas A&M University General Libraries. The requests were sorted by academic departments, user types, call numbers, and type of material. The statistics served two primary purposes. First, frequently requested items were ordered for the library's permanent collection. Second, the data were compared to electronic resource usage statistics to determine which resources best serve the patrons. The statistics assisted the library administrators in making collection management decisions and projected short- and long-term budgetary needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the development of a Web-based reference collection for an academic community. Includes such topics as collection development policies, tailoring the site to a specific audience, staff motivation, and site design. Discusses successes, failures and modifications during the first two years of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much has been written about the impact of the Internet and the Web on libraries and librarianship, relatively little attention has been devoted to the subject of librarians as creators and even marketers of new online services. The present article describes two fee-based online services at the University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign: the online version of the American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies (ABSEES); and the IRIS suite of funding-information services. The author discusses the pros and cons of in-house content-creation and concludes that academic libraries have the raw materials and the know how to create valuable new online services, especially reference services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the architecture, technology and library design of the Bruce T. Halle Library at Eastern Michigan University. Designing a new or renovated library building; Collection storage and retrieval; Technology infrastructure.

The online worlds of education and business increasingly converge. Rather than fear competition for readers from the commercial sector, academic Internet authors can respect and learn from it. The principles behind successful commercial Web sites (clear mission, valuable content, clean design and canny publicity) can be applied by academics in establishing non-profit Web sites. The origin and progress of the Education Book Reviews Web site, providing brief reviews of current professional publications, illustrates successful applications of these effective techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in the US healthcare system in the past 20 years have meant increasing pressure on consumers to find their own healthcare information. Their search, amid an ever-widening array of information resources, has profound implications for library reference services. A recent study of 350 public librarians in Michigan is, to date, the only investigation of librarian practices in health information provision in a large region of the USA. Examines services, queries, problems, librarian training and health collection resources. The findings have special meaning for academic librarians as they delineate their unique role in the health information system and, with public librarians, seek to devise effective means for responsive library service in today's competitive health information resources environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At Kean University, a comprehensive teaching institution, the submission of new library book orders by faculty is a long-standing practice. In order to identify and assess the academic characteristics of faculty selectors as well as the audience, purpose, criteria, and sources prioritized by faculty selectors when submitting new requests, the library conducted a survey. The survey results indicated that, at Kean, the faculty of Liberal Arts and faculty with 1-5 years of teaching across all disciplines were the most active in their participation in book selection. The findings also showed that Kean's faculty ordered books mainly for undergraduate students and teaching; and primarily used publishers' catalogs and professional journal book reviews for selection sources. This research study provides measurable data and constructive feedback for a comprehensive university library to enhance and facilitate the faculty book selection process effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Zealand is a small nation with experience and challenges in the area of interlending that have relevance for both developed and less developed countries. The National Library of New Zealand operates in a political environment that is committed to ensuring effective control and value for money of public expenditure. Employing both well tested professional strategies and the opportunities opened up by new technologies, the National Library is committed to maximising national access to library resources through facilitating interlibrary lending and document delivery. In mid-1999 the National Library replaced the automated interlibrary lending module of its national bibliographic utility with a fully standards-compliant facility. Central to this system is the automated national union catalogue and library directory service maintained by the National Library. The Library also has a history of working in partnership with the library profession to manage a national resource-sharing cooperative. The challenge that the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa faces is to develop and maintain strategies to facilitate all New Zealanders being able to access and obtain information from wherever it is available in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As libraries and information services address the needs of users in an increasingly networked environment, there is a need for theoretical models to underpin research, development and practice. The characteristics and roles of traditional libraries and information services are described, and a variety of predictions about their future are examined. A number of recent models of the "electronic' or "digital' library are analysed, and the concept of the "hybrid' library is described. On this basis a generic model of the library, using that term in its broadest sense, is developed. A number of application areas are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet has become a cornerstone of modern libraries. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the Internet in Syria from the lobbying efforts that took place beforehand, to the implementation phase and its problems. The paper describes the most important Internet projects. Future projects are discussed as well as the plans of selected organisations. Some Syrian Web sites are listed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]