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The article looks at the work of library science scholar John Carlo Bertot, outgoing editor of "Library Quarterly." It focuses on his work in assessing public libraries' Internet connectivity and engaging in a range of efforts to promote Internet use and digital access for the public through libraries. Topics include the 1990s Maryland state library network called Sailor and partnerships between libraries and related entities at the local, state, and national level in the U.S.

Access to high-speed ðbroadbandÞ Internet in public libraries requires a well-informed public to advocate, particularly in periods of government funding reductions and rapid technical and regulatory change. Libraries are encouraged by the National Broadband Plan to facilitate public inquiry on this issue by holding participatory forums. To collect evidence of the potential public response to library-led forums on this topic using a deliberative protocol, researchers conducted pre- and postforum surveys and content-analyzed recorded transcripts from thirteen library forums in north central Kansas. Results show positive influences of deliberation on participants' information seeking, political self-efficacy, subsequent issue advocacy, and general satisfaction with the forum experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon findings from a national survey of U.S. public libraries, this paper examines trends in Internet and public computing access in public libraries across states from 2004 to 2006. Based on library-supplied information about levels and types of Internet and public computing access, the authors offer insights into the network-based content and services that public libraries provide. Examining data from 2004 to 2006 reveals trends and accomplishments in certain states and geographic regions. This paper details and discusses the data, identifies and analyzes issues related to Internet access, and suggests areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between OCLC Online Computer Library Center and its member institutions worldwide is formalized in the Members Council. This body, representing OCLC's constituent networks and service centers, has a key role in helping the OCLC Board of Trustees and management determine the future direction of the cooperative. Its core responsibilities include electing six trustees to the fifteen-member Board, and approving or rejecting changes to OCLC's Articles of Incorporation and Code of Regulations, the corporation's founding documents. The Members Council also represents the interests of libraries to OCLC. While the Board, Council, and management do not agree on all issues, their relationships are characterized by extensive interaction and mutual respect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The E-rate program has provided tremendous benefits to libraries, allowing many libraries and library systems to acquire technological equipment and services that would otherwise be too expensive, increasing the availability of public Internet access through libraries. This article analyzes the data related to the E-rate program and the discounts that it has provided to libraries and library systems between 2000 and 2004. By examining the E-rate data in a longitudinal manner, this article explores the trends in the application for and the provision of E-rate discounts to libraries and library consortia at national and state levels. The data suggest that, despite a number of controversies over the years, the program has provided a significant level of support for libraries and library consortia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the use of filtering software ("censorware") and the World Wide Web. It argues that the United States government, religious groups, and corporations should not deter freedom of speech and access to information in libraries. The article describes how governments and religious groups try to prevent Web sites from reaching Internet users, and explains how corporations sell and use filters for their own benefit. It also introduces organizations that rate Web sites as an alternative to electronic filters, and presents people and groups that oppose filtering. In conclusion, it supports the idea that librarians and information professionals can educate Internet users without the interference of external entities and censorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networking sites (SNS) are widely used by the library information science professionals for libraries for various purposes due to their characteristics, facilities and connectivity. This study provides views of library and information science professionals regarding usages of SNS tools and services for their libraries. It was discovered from the study that maximum number of library and information science professionals who responded in this survey were associated with academic libraries have known about SNS tools and services since more than four years from internet/search engines, use SNS several times in daily, for interacting with the users and getting feedback from the users , used SNS namely 'Facebook', for marketing of library services and products but did not have policy for using SNS into their libraries and lack of credibility of SNS tools and services emerged as major barrier to use SNS for libraries. Apart from this, maximum number of respondents said that SNS tools and services will be used for libraries in full extend in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the way that Scottish public library authorities are implementing filtering software as a public access internet management tool. The aim of the study is to determine the extent to which filtering systems are used as a public access internet management tool and to examine the nature of this implementation. This constitutes an analysis of the actual policies and procedures in place within each library authority to manage public access to the internet. Design/methodology/approach – The paper utilizes a literature review and an analysis of data supplied by the public library services. The data required was gathered through Freedom of Information requests sent to all Scottish public library authorities. Findings – A total of 31 of the 32 public library services operating within the 32 Scottish local authorities utilized some form of filtering software to control internet access. The main justifications cited for this were to prevent access to illegal or inappropriate materials; however it was found that in the majority of cases the decision to implement the software was not made by the management of the library but external IT staff. This raises major issues related to the historical role of the librarian as selector of content for their community. Research limitations/implications – The paper presents results from a subset of local authorities in the UK, thus cannot claim to be anything more than indicative of the geographic sample. Practical implications – The findings can help inform the rationale utilized by public library services in implementing filtering policies. Originality/value – This paper is the only paper to directly address the issue of internet filtering in all public libraries in Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It describes the web visibility and accessibility of research in library and documentation in Argentina by studying dissertations submitted to qualify for the bachelor's degree. It is an exploratory study with quantitative approach where the visibility of theses in catalogs and institutional repositories, the number of theses visible on the web/amount accessible in full text, metadata records in catalogs, metadata records in the repositories, the production of dissertations per year according to web visibility, the number of authors per dissertation as web visibility and thematic distribution of the content of dissertations. It is concluded that the production of dissertations in library science in Argentina is spread on the web and that the visibility and accessibility of these is very low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to emphasize some of the qualitative results from the data collection throughout the second year of the Biblionet Program in Romania. Design/methodology/approach – Concentrated here are the conclusions drawn from reports of the County Coordinators, online questionnaires, quantitative and qualitative research reports, and information from colleagues in the Biblionet team. Findings – The results and findings have been grouped under the four key objectives of the Biblionet Programme: the citizens' information needs are better fulfilled with the help of public libraries; librarians provide better services to communities; for the National Association of Librarians and Public Libraries in Romania (ANBPR) to improve its capacity to provide services to members; and public authorities to increase their support for library development. Originality/value – A wide range of improvement examples are provided that can be easily transferred to other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has established international standards for website accessibility which attempt to ensure that everyone has the same opportunities to use materials published on the World Wide Web (Web). This article provides a summation of the research conducted into the accessibility of public library websites in Western Australia. A discussion is provided of the website audit methods used and results obtained. The research demonstrates the level of compliance with Australian and International standards as well as results of surveys used to determine the perceived willingness to comply with those standards, barriers to compliance and benefits of an accessible website. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It would be important to place into libraries the client end of e-government and e-administration with access for citizens. This new function would make it possible, on the one hand, that library professionals prove their service-orientation in this new field bringing social esteem and benefit. On the other hand, concentrating the sources of e-administration in a well operating national network would work more efficiently than within other organizations. Libraries as cultural institutions would create a new community space which may serve the purposes of digital inclusion as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the use of video on mobile devices. It examines two popular video Web sites, iTunes U and YouTube, and discusses how health sciences libraries are using these sites. Considerations for collecting and organizing video for library users are discussed, and tools for creating and converting mobile video are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents Guerrilla marketing as marketing style suitable for libraries, advertising their services and popularization of reading in general. It informs about project Guerrilla Readers realized in KIKS FF MU in Brno which sets an aim to apply and analyse unconventional marketing methods in this sphere and to share acquired knowledge and experiences above all in virtual platform compound of free accessible implements and services of the Internet which work on principle of social media and networking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of 4,032 youth in grades 5 through 12 was conducted to determine the impact youth's use of the Internet was having on their use of the public library. Results indicated that 100% of the youth had access to the Internet from one or more locations, and that although one quarter of the youth accessed the Internet at the public library, the public library was the least frequently used source of Internet access. For youth without Internet access at home, the public library was also the least used alternate source of access. Approximately 69% of the youth reported that they had visited a public library during the school year. Having Internet access at home did not affect whether or not youth visited the library however, Internet access at home appears to have affected the frequency with which youth visit the library. Youth without Internet access at home visited the library more frequently, whereas youth with Internet access at home visited the library less frequently. Use of the Internet also appeared to have diminished youth's need to use the public library as a source of personal information however, use of the Internet appeared not to have affected their use of the public library for school work or for recreation. Among youth, use of both the Internet and the public library appear to be complementary activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present a high-level investigation of the physical-conceptual continuum occupied by both digital and physical libraries. Design/methodology/approach - A framework is provided for thinking about the notions of place and library. The issue of materials and the ideas they represent is considered. Places for people are considered, including issues of people's sense of place in physical and digital spaces. The issue of physical and digital spaces as places for work, collaboration, and community-building is considered. Findings - As more digital libraries are built, and as more physical libraries offer electronic access to parts of their collection, two trends are likely to result: the role of the library as a storage space for materials will become decreasingly important; and the role of the library as a space for users, for individual and collaborative work, and as a space for social activity, will become increasingly important. Research limitations/implications - Digital libraries are unable to fulfill some of the functions of the physical library as physical spaces, but are able to offer functions beyond what the physical library can offer as cognitive spaces. Practical implications - Areas of likely future development for digital libraries are suggested, as vehicles for enhancing cognitive space by augmenting representations of ideas in materials. Originality/value - This paper argues that in many ways digital libraries really are places in the conceptual sense, and will continue to broaden and enrich the roles that libraries play in people's lives and in the larger social milieu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the topic of the usage of the internet in libraries and how libraries have increased their functions and made their collections more accessible. With the advent of web 2.0, the internet has become more of a place for collective intelligence and a more simpler, interactive user guide. The author examines how libraries can incorporate this interactive platform to let users help design the services of the library.

This article provides an update on the Web-OPAC as Library Resources Portal Project, launched by Lingnan University Library, Hong Kong. In August 2004, Lingnan Library introduced a new feature to the Web-OPAC as Library Resources Portal Project, i.e., by converting some 300 Naxos Spoken Library titles into MARC records, with the use of an in-house developed software programme. The result was that on top of allowing users to gain direct access to the NSWL titles from the Web-OPAC, it also enhanced their intellectual access to different collections held inside the Library. Such a setup allowed a unified retrieval from multiple translations or different expressions of the same work - - enhancing users' ability to search across different collections under the same platform, regardless of their media or formats. Following the success of the NSWL Project, Lingnan Library announced at the 5th Annual Hong Kong Innovative Users Group Meeting on 1st December 2004 that as the second phase of the Web-OPAC as Library Resources Portal Project, they successfully converted a total number of 4,676 Naxos Music Library titles into individual MARC records. The NML MARC Project adopted basically the same concepts and principles in making the NML titles inter-searchable with other library collections, to further reinforce the concept of One-Stop searching for the library users under the Web-OPAC. Lingnan Library's users are now able to access Naxos' complete catalogue of music recordings at any time of day or night via Lingnan's Web-OPAC, inside the library at a Listening station, or from any computer with Internet access via remote log-in options, etc. This is almost an unlimited access to an online resource of more than 80,000 audio tracks that takes up no shelf space at all. This paper documents Lingnan Library's experience in: (1) how to introduce the NML titles to the bibliographic database, and its subsequent finds, as well as its impacts on the cataloguers and users. it also features the locally developed System Software, together with technical procedures explaining how to convert the 4,676 NML titles in MARC format, as well as the necessary manpower and expertise involved for the preparation and implementation of the project. (2) the techniques in bringing consistency to the bibliographic records, and authority control to names of individual composers, lyrists, musician-performers, as well as other professional music groups, after the NML titles were successfully uploaded onto the bibliographic database. This paper is also supplemented with a brief analytical study on the contents of the NML at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at Internet-based reading recommendation services. The past five years have seen a continued growth in the availability of reading resources on the Internet. While many of the pioneering resources, such as genre fiction Web sites and fan-built author sites, have been allowed to fade away by their creators, others have sprung up to take their place. Online booksellers and publishers are continuing to expand their resources to attract and support readers. This expansion of reading resources on the Internet has not been the sole responsibility of commercial entities or fan groups. Libraries have taken an active role in providing resources to their readers and to the broader reading community through the Internet from its inception, and they continue to expand their online reading resources in a variety of ways. Libraries are taking two approaches to providing readers' active advisory services online, either synchronous (chat based) or asynchronous (e-mail based). These approaches mirror the methods used by libraries that offer virtual reference services and each method has its advantages and potential concerns. In either case, starting an online reading suggestion service offers several opportunities for libraries, and may provide advantages to readers as well.

Reports on the integration of Internet resources into the special subject services of libraries as of September 2000. Ways in making Internet resources accessible to library users; Facts on the special subjects of research libraries in Germany; Problems in the integration.

This article offers evidence of increasing economic disparities for poor people and a growing ''digital divide.'' The role of libraries to ensure access to technology is discussed. The Bridge Project is presented as an example of a library program designed to bring technological access into low-income neighborhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the deficiency of the libraries to offer a rich online information environment to the library users. It relates that the rich online world created by the library is not available to the user at convenient locations within the library and they have not provided the useful integration between the online and on-shelf resources. It adds that the library does not have the technology to create the full integration of the user's workplace, the electronic resources of the library and the physical library. Moreover, it discusses the two trends that enables the library to create the integration including the evolution toward omnipresent network access and toward hand-held network and computing devices.

The article discusses several lectures that focused on library user behavior and on services for library users. The lectures were held at the 100th German librarians' retreat that took place in Berlin, Germany in June 2011. The main lecture, given by the librarian Lynn Connaway, focused on providing library users with certain tools and services, eliminating barriers preventing library users from accessing certain services, and encouraging library users to learn how to use the internet resources.

The article focuses on the impact on libraries in Mississippi of the e-rate program that provides telecommunications discounting to schools and libraries. A report released by the Education and Libraries Networks Coalition and the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training noted that e-rate has transformed schools and libraries into modern institutions. The report credited the program with increasing the number of public classrooms with Internet access. It also noted the high telecommunications costs facing public library directors.