1. Describe in detail three methods that information professionals commonly use to analyze the subject contents of a group of works. Discuss some of the most important differences among these methods, and describe how these methods affect users' strategies in carrying out subject searches.
2. In times of fiscal constraint, how can libraries and information centers provide for professional growth and advancement and maintain staff morale?
3. Your library has been using computers only for standard office functions such as word processing and accounting. Now the library director has chosen an automation program and intends to proceed with retrospective conversion, bar coding, OCLC cataloging, and an OPAC. Describe the specific effects you foresee that this integrated system will have on the work of the library staff, and outline an implementation plan that would address staff needs and concerns.
4. Assume that you have just been appointed the head librarian of a small historical society. The library collection, in very poor condition, is made up of a jumble of letters, newspapers, books, photographs, audio tapes, and manuscripts. The material is all of great historical interest to the region. Assuming continued funding at a fairly comfortable level, outline a preservation plan for dealing with such a collection. Indicate priorities and explain your decisions.
5. The former Archivist of the United States ruled that the E-Mail messages of President Bush are personal papers and not records and could therefore be taken to the library where the Archivist subsequently took a position. What ethical/professional/moral/legal issues are raised by this decision? Was he correct in the action that he took? Defend your position and describe what standards should be in effect for such situations.
6. The growth in the number of end users who wish to access directly various computer-based information systems (OPACs, on-line database services, CD-ROMs, etc.) has created a challenge for librarians, archivists, and information managers to develop instruction programs and materials. What aspects of this type of training for electronic access are different from traditional bibliographic instruction in the use of library or archival collections? What aspects are the same?
7. Reference services in university libraries are often organized according to one of two models: centralized service and departmentalized (or decentralized) service. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these two approaches. Given the expansion of on-line reference tools used in university libraries, which model do you think is most appropriate currently? Explain your choice.
8. Delivery of the full text of documents has been an issue in the profession for as long as catalogs and indexes have existed. Document delivery has become a more critical concern, however, as electronic access tools have speeded up the finding of real and virtual document references. Discuss the considerations--cost, convenience, formats, etc.--associated with providing document delivery that will satisfy users needs and preferences. What do you see as the future directions of document delivery?
9. The recent publication of Madonna's book, Sex, by Warner Books with a metal cover, wrapped in mylar, enclosed CD, bearing the warning "Adults Only", and priced at nearly $50.00 raised a variety of questions about the appropriateness of adding the title to library collections. Discuss the issues involved and the process by which librarians should decide whether or not to acquire such a work.
10. One of the major proposals of the Clinton-Gore administration is the creation of a nationwide information super highway system. Describe the telecommunications developments that make the concept of the information "superhighway" possible, and describe the effect that a telecommunications "superhighway" will have on the library community.
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