A Pilot Study of Health Information Resource Use in Rural Public Libraries in Upstate New York

No abstract available for this article.     

Total Library Assessment

ASBTRACT

Library assessment as a concept is so complex that we often fail to see the entire scope of the endeavor. Consequently, our approaches tend to be somewhat piecemeal. By exploring three dimensions of library assessment (the organizational, the inquisitive, and the methodological), this article will discuss how diverse assessment practices fit into an overall scheme, or Total Library Assessment (TLA). The article also presents several strategies to maximize assessment coverage and extend the reach of the assessment librarian. This top-level view of library assessment can be a helpful intermediate step toward thoughtful, effective, structured assessment planning that operates within the context of a unique organization.     

Zur Tätigkeit und den wirkungen der Enquete-Kommission “Zukünftige Bildungspolitik — BIldung 2000” des Deutschen Bundestages

At the end of 1987 the lower house of the German parliament (Bundestag) established a Commission of Enquiry to make recommendations by the end of the parliamentary session in 1990 on the future direction of education policy in the Federal Republic. The problems and disagreements associated with its establishment and terms of reference are discussed. Attempts to reach a new consensus in educational policy were crucial to its activities. Against this background, and following a short discussion of the development of educational policy from the early 1970s to the end of the 1980s, the next sections of the paper present the essential findings of the Commission. It is seen that the Interim Report, and particularly the Final Report, were marked by a large number of divergent votes between the majority CDU/CSU and FDP Members of Parliament and experts, and the minority SPD and Green MPs and experts. There was also a remarkable degree of consensus, albeit at a relatively abstract level. The last section of the paper looks forward to further parliamentary consideration of the Final Report, and to the likelihood of the Commission's recommendations' being implemented, insofar as this can be delineated or anticipated two years after the conclusion of its work. In this context it is proper to address also the problems for educational policy posed by the unification of Germany on 3rd October 1990, two weeks after the Commission completed its work, and by the drawing together of Europe through the single internal market from 1993.     

Telecommunications History

Henry M. Field, The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph (originally published by Scribner's in 1893, 415 pp.)

John E. Kingsbury, The Telephone and Telephone Exchanges: Their Invention and Development (Longmans, Green, 1915, 558 pp.)

George B. Prescott, Bell's Electric Speaking Telephone: Its Invention, Construction, Application, Modification and History (Appleton, 1884, 526 pp.)

Robert Luther Thompson, Wiring a Continent: The History of the Telegraph Industry in the United States, 1832-66 (Princeton University Press, 1947, 544 pp.)

The Horn Speaker (P.O. Box 12, Kleberg, Texas 75145 -- $3.00 per year/10 issues)