Frequently Asked Questions

Adult

Young Adult

Children

Adult

• What is the Libraries FAQ?

• FAQ is an acronym for Frequently Asked Questions (or, as some have suggested, Frequently Answered Questions), a periodic posting of information regularly requested on Usenet newsgroups. FAQs posted to news.answers are archived at ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers. Hypertext versions of posted FAQs can be found at: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/top.html

  The Libraries FAQ is a collection of basic information regarding libraries and librarianship, and an introductory guide to library resources on the Internet. The FAQ was created by Steve Bergson (safran-can@yahoo.com), and initially arose from questions and discussions on the newsgroup soc.libraries.talk. Steve is also the creator of the Medical Libraries FAQ, http://members.tripod.com/~medlib/mdlbfaq.htm. Starting in Oct. 1, 1996, the Libraries FAQ has been maintained by Anthony Wilson, paw@ibiblio.org . The FAQ has been expanded to include questions and information from other library related email discussion lists. (See section 8.4 )

  The Libraries FAQ was posted once a year to news.answers, soc.answers and soc.libraries.talk , but there were problems with the MIT FAQ server, and the FAQ has not been posted to any Usenet newsgroups for several years. The last posted version is archived at: ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/books/library-faq  A Hypertext version of the FAQ is at the Libraries FAQ Homepage: http://www.ibiblio.org/librariesfaq/ . This web based version is the most up-to-date version of the FAQ. The FAQ homepage is also where you'll find Steve Bergson's Librarians in Comics:Sources.

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• How long have libraries existed?

• The earliest libraries were repositories for business, legal, historical, and religious records. Sumerians are believed to have developed the first writing system around 3500 BCE. By 2700 BCE, they had established temple, private, and governmental libraries.

  The Encyclopedia Britannica entry on "library" gives a great summary of the history of libraries, and their operations and services, http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/6/0,5716,109616+1,00.html .

  If you are interested in the history of libraries and librarianship, visit the Library History Round Table web site and consider joining their mailing list, http://www.spertus.edu/library-history/ :

  "The purpose of the Library History Round Table is to facilitate communication among scholars and students of library history, to support research in library history, and to be active in issues, such as preservation, that concern library historians."

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• What other FAQs might interest librarians and researchers?

• A complete listing of FAQs posted to news.answers can be found at the news.answers archive, ftp://rtfm.mit.edu . A more user friendly WWW FAQ archive can be found at http://www.faqs.org/. For general information regarding the creation and maintenance of FAQs, see the Infinite Link FAQ site, http://www.ii.com/internet/faqs/ (and its mirror http://www.best.com/~ii/internet/faqs/writing/).

  Some FAQs that might be of interest to librarians and researchers include:

  alt.education.distance FAQ
  http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/education/distance-ed-faq/top.html

  alt.usage.english FAQ
  http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/alt-usage-english-faq/faq.html

  Books (category)
  http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/books/top.html

  How to find the right place to post (FAQ)
  http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/finding-groups/general/faq.html

  Information Research FAQ
  http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/internet/info-research-faq/top.html

  rec.arts.books FAQ
  http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/books/faq/faq.html

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Young Adult

• What is library science?

• From the Libraries FAQ 1.2 by Steve Bergson:

  The ALA Glossary defines it as

  "The knowledge, demands and skills by which recorded information is selected, acquired, organized and utilized in meeting the information needs of a community of users."

  However, Will Manley writes, "library science is an oxymoron. There is absolutely nothing scientific about librarianship."

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• Where can I read more about libraries and library science?

• Whole Library Handbook 3: Current Data, Professional Advice, and Curiosa about Libraries and Library Services. George M. Eberhart, compiler. Chicago: ALA, 2000. An invaluable compilation of advice (CD maintenance and repair), information (grants and scholarships) and trivia (114 ways to say "library".)

  Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. Allen Kent, Harold Lancour , editors. New York: M. Dekker, 1968.

  Encyclopedia of Library History. Wayne A. Wiegard, Donald G. Davis, Jr. editors. New York: Garland, 1994.

  World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services. Robert Wedgeworth, editor. Chicago: 1993..

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• Where can I get the latest news regarding libraries and library science?

• AcqWeb's "Hot Topics" section, http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/law/acqs/lis_hot.html , has links relating to current controversies in library science.

  American Libraries Online, http://www.ala.org/alonline/index.html , gives you the "News of the Week".

  The Library Journal Digital, http://www.ljdigital.com/, provides library news and technology updates.

  Library Juice, http://libr.org/Juice/ , is a news digest for librarians, library and information science students, and other interested people. It includes announcements, many web resources, calls for papers, and news affecting the library world. Much of the material has a social-responsibilities or intellectual freedom focus.

  At LISNews.com , http://www.lisnews.com/ , each news story is linked to a message board for discussion and comments.

  A good source for "alternative" news is the Minnesota Library Association Social Responsibilities Round Table (MSRRT) Newsletter, http://www.cs.unca.edu/~davidson/msrrt/ . Editor Chris Dodge, "The Street Librarian" http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/7423/index.html , provides interesting updates on library staff unionizing, internet censorship, price gouging by vendors, etc.

  What's Gnu? is a mostly weekly collection of announcements about people, resources, and events, http://www.sls.lib.il.us/reference/whatsnew.html . What's Gnu? is compiled by Laura Johnson, a Research Librarian at the Suburban Library System Reference Service, http://www.sls.lib.il.us/reference/index.html

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Children

• What is a library?

• From the Libraries FAQ 1.2 by Steve Bergson:m the Libraries FAQ 1.2 by Steve Bergson:

  The traditional definition is "a collection of books". The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science (Heartsill Young (ed.) Chicago: ALA, 1983) defines a library as:

  "A collection of material organized to provide physical, bibliographical, and intellectual access to a target group with a staff that is trained to provide services and programs related to the information needs of the target group".

  Will Manley adds, in his _Manley Art of Librarianship_ (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1993), "An unused collection of books is simply that - an unused collection of books. It is not a library."

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• How old is librarianship?
• From the Libraries FAQ 1.2 by Steve Bergson

  Much younger, but difficult to pinpoint. The _ALA Glossary..._ defines librarianship as "the profession concerned with the application of knowledge of media and those principles, theories, techniques and technologies which contribute to the establishment, preservation, organization, and utilization of collections of library materials and to the dissemination of information through media." (pg. 130) Barbara Ehrenreich writes, in her _Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class_ (Pantheon: New York, 1989) that professionalization occurred between 1870 and 1920 (pg. 133). I don't know if a consensus has been reached on a specific year for this development. Certain milestones are noteworthy, though.

  1876 - Melville Dewey established the first standardized classification system for libraries (DDC)

  - the American Library Association was founded

  - _Library Journal_ began publication

  1882 - first ALA library conference held

  1887 - Dewey established the first library school at Columbia University (which has since closed down)

  1965 - MAchine Readable Coding (MARC) coding was introduced

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• What types of libraries are there?
• Libraries can be categorized into four basic types:
  1. public libraries, http://www.yahoo.com/Reference/Libraries/Public_Libraries/
  2. school libraries, http://www.yahoo.com/Reference/Libraries/School_Libraries/
  3. academic libraries, http://www.yahoo.com/Reference/Libraries/University_Libraries/, and
  4. special libraries, which include:
     • Law libraries http://www.yahoo.com/Government/Law/Legal_Research/Libraries/
     • Medical libraries
       http://www.yahoo.com/Health/Reference/Libraries/
     • Art libraries
       http://www.yahoo.com/Arts/Libraries/
     • Science and engineering libraries
       http://www.yahoo.com/Science/Libraries/
       http://www.yahoo.com/Science/Engineering/Libraries/
     • Music libraries
       http://www.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/Libraries/
     • Government libraries http://www.yahoo.com/Government/Documents/Libraries/or
     • Any of the many libraries which serve organizations requiring, or providing, specialized information (see Special Libraries Assoc., http://www.sla.org/ .)
       

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• What is the largest library in the world?...the oldest?...the most popular?
• What public library is the largest in the world? *

  Where was the world's first library science school located? *
  What famous lover once worked as a librarian? *

  The answers to these and other library related questions be found at Info Connect Lists of Library Records, http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/jabba/365/Page16.htm.

  *Answers:
  New York Public Library
  Columbia University
  Casanova (librarian for Count Von Waldstein)

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