March/April 2010 » Issues » Public Libraries Online

March/April 2010Volume 49, No. 2

Improving Storytime Delivery with Peer Coaching

From the outset, Maryland Public Libraries (MPL) have been striving toward the same goals as the Public Library Association (PLA) and Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Every Child Ready to Read @ your library® (ECRR) initiative, with a popular 2001–02 campaign called It’s Never Too Early. It wasn’t immediately obvious after the well-received […]

Special Services in Special Times: Responding to Changed Information Needs During and After Community-Based Disasters

In disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, pandemics, or terrorist attacks, which can affect a whole community and not just a single institution, librarians may be called upon to provide new and modified information services to users whose information needs have suddenly changed, at the same time that access to information resources has dramatically […]

Getting the Most From Donations

In a recent informal survey, I asked librarians whether they considered donations of materials to their library a blessing or a curse—or somewhere in between. Not surprisingly, the responses were all over the map. Many praised donations as an unalloyed blessing, often despite the fact that they are a lot of work. Many gave them […]

Power to the People

This issue’s Internet Spotlight column is taking shape at 38,000 feet, somewhere over the middle of the United States. Flying back from the 2010 Computers in Libraries Conference, both our heads are full of fresh ideas, things to research, opinions to think about, questions that need to be answered, new friends and colleagues, and … […]

Foursquare for Libraries

In this Internet Spotlight column, let’s play a game. But not just any game. What if we make it a game that’s played completely online, that you can play with friends, and gives rewards for doing well? While we’re at it, let’s make it location-based (more on that in a second). Anyone know what game […]

Unleash the Power of the Library

Public libraries are a unique network of service providers that exist to ensure that all citizens have free access to information and materials that are critical to daily life. Increasingly, this means providing access to computers and the Internet. Nowhere is this more evident than in the conclusions of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Libraries […]