Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

This study was the first phase of a multiple phase project to generate knowledge about the creation and rapid growth of information and referral (I&R) services in public libraries in the United States in the late 1960s and the 1970s. I&R service is defined as facilitating the link between a person with a need and the resources outside a library to meet that need. The study was implemented by administering two surveys. The nationwide survey polled one-twelfth of U.S. libraries about the extent of I&R services provided; sources of I&R innovation; and administrative factors. The focused survey polled all public libraries that provided I&R services about the background of I&R; sources of I&R innovation; I&R services offered; service delivery and administration; and evaluation of I&R services. The response rates of the two surveys were 43% and 66%, respectively. Analyses were based mainly on descriptive statistics. Following an executive summary, eight chapters provide: (1) an overview of I&R in public libraries; (2) a description of the two surveys and the response to them; (3) a discussion of the types of I&R services provided by the participating libraries; (4) a more detailed examination of the I&R services delivered in the libraries studied; (5) a description of the delivery systems used for I&R services; (6) an examination of various facets of the management of I&R services; (7) a discussion of the findings of the study and recommendations; and (8) a description of a half-day symposium on public library I&R that was delivered at the 1979 American Library Association conference in June 1979. Questionnaires and data from the two surveys are appended. (6 references) (SD)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert