Library binding is one of the activities typically included in newly created preservation departments, but librarians continue to discover that transforming a traditional binding program into one that better meets preservation objectives requires considerable investment of time. This resource guide is intended to help libraries review their binding activities from a preservation perspective through the following: (1) suggesting a strategy for gaining expertise through reading and observation; (2) outlining a plan for evaluating the library's and the binder's practices and policies; (3) presenting a strategy for initiating change; and (4) identifying issues that merit attention and discussion. Thirty-six articles dealing with a binding program and relations with a binder are presented. A bibliography lists an additional 18 sources for further reading. (SLD)

This important volume presents a wealth of practical ideas for improving the art of reference librarianship. Reference Service Expertise provides pragmatic ways for librarians to aid patrons, consider reference collections and how they are employed, and assess various technologies in reference work. Dedicated to the idea that reference service is a benevolent desire to help the sometimes puzzled library user, this unique book describes numerous and varied means to that end and encourages reference librarians to become familiar with the multiple resources available in modern libraries. Reference Service Expertise pinpoints specific areas in which librarians can increase their knowledge in order to become more efficient. These strategies include using a systems approach in reference instruction for library professionals; guidelines for academic librarians to use for evaluating facilities, services, and staff as to how effectively they welcome users and validate their information needs; using team teaching to instruct users about library services; developing legal reference skills to support the constitutional right-to-know in a self-governing society; and helping non-science librarians to become science literate by reading popular science literature, watching science television programs, visiting science museums, and generally increasing their awareness of the problem of science illiteracy among the general population. A wide variety of resources available in today's reference libraries are discussed to help librarians become better informed about the options available to their patrons, including: ERIC and NTIS and the information gap between the two databases resources on the evolving market economy or investments in the Commonwealth of Independent States fee-based services PsycLIT (CD-ROM), PsycINFO (online), and the difference in retrieval patterns using the same vocabulary of terms interactive media centers--advantages and shortcomings Reference librarians in all types of libraries will benefit from chapters that describe specific methods for improving their own personal effectiveness as well as chapters that evaluate specific services and reference tools available for reference library users.

Here is what the experts have to say about the effects of computer applications on selected facets of personnel administration in libraries. Senior library managers, systems librarians, and library educators with a special interest in automation analyze the changes in the workplace that have already occurred and discuss those that will confront library professionals in the future. Personnel Administration in an Automated Environment covers the latest issues and research on the topic. Among the subjects dealt with are education and compensation of automation librarians, the nature of jobs in an automated library, the opportunities for innovation and change in technical library jobs, new personnel issues as a result of automating users’services, changing staff requirements in mid-sized academic libraries, the intersection of library and computer center tasks, and the impact of computerization on job satisfaction and performance evaluation. Administrators, personnel officers, and department heads in mid-sized to large libraries with computer-based operations will find both research-based results and reasonable speculation on everyday problems. A bibliography of the most recent books and articles will be useful to scholars of the subject.

This supplement to Microcomputers and libraries; a bibliographic sourcebook (1987) surveys the literature of library microcomputing from 1986 through 1989. Some 5,300 entries cover microcomputer selection, implementation, applications, management, software, and hardware for libraries. Many new topic