William H. Wisner asks us to "Restore the Noble Purpose of Libraries" in an Opinion piece in the July 17th edition of The Christian Science Monitor: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0717/p09s01-coop.html . A reference librarian at the Laredo Community College, he is the author of "Whither the Postmodern Library?" , published in 2000.

Research And Markets announces this new report: "The Survey of American College Students: Student Library Research Practices & Skills" http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20090706005565/en

Only 400 American college students were surveyed for this EURO 86 report - I ask any stats experts out there if this is a large enough group? Direct link to order the report, or to see more of the findings:

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/730011/the_survey_of_amer

The list of topics covered is extensive, and should offer some insight to those planning new programs:

Chapter One: Percentage Of Students Who Have Ever Been Required To Turn In A Paper Exceeding Approximately 10 Double Spaced Typed Pages In Length For Any Of Their Classes

Chapter Two: Percentage Of Information Needed To Complete Research Assignments That Comes From General Google, Yahoo And Other General Search Engine Searches

Chapter Three: Percentage Of Information Needed To Complete Research Assignments That Comes From Wikipedia Or Other Wickis

Chapter Four: Percentage Of Information Needed To Complete Research Assignments That Comes From Online Databases, E-Books Or Online Journals Offered Through Your College Library

Chapter Five: Percentage Of Information Needed To Complete Research Assignments That Comes From Books, Magazines Or Other Print Resources Offered Through Your College Library

Chapter Six: Percentage Of Information Needed To Complete Research Assignments That Comes From Other Sources Not Previously Cited

Chapter Seven: For The Last Research Assignment That You Received, How Did You Find Most Of The Information That You Needed?

Chapter Eight: Percentage Of Students That Within The Past Year Have Asked For Assistance From A Librarian In Finding Any Kind Of Information Resource Such As A Book, Database, Or Other Library Source

Chapter Nine: Which Statement Pretty Much Sums Up What Your Own Professors Tell You About Using The College Library

Chapter Ten: Percentage Of Students That Agree With The Following Statement: My College Library Helps Me Find The Information I Need For My Research Projects

Chapter Eleven: Percentage Of Students That Agree With The Following Statement: I Feel I Am Well Versed In What The Library Has To Offer And Can Use The Various Databases And Collections Easily Or Learn To Use Them Easily

Chapter Twelve: Percentage Of Students That Agree With The Following Statement: I Know How To Contact A Librarian Online When I Need Help

Chapter Thirteen: Percentage Of Students That Agree With The Following Statement: I Am Confident In My Ability To Research And Write A Research Paper For Most Of My Courses

Chapter Fourteen: Percentage Of Students That Agree With The Following Statement: I Know How To Prepare Reference

List Of Tables

A creative method to keep branch libraries open in Providence, RI -

City's Branch Libraries Go Their Own Way

http://www.projo.com/news/content/PROVIDENCE_LIBRARY_SYSTEM_07-01-09_K8ET0KM_v30.38ab2e9.html

If you want an argument for your next weeding venture, take a look at this blog:
Awful Library Books
http://awfullibrarybooks.wordpress.com/
I saw it mentioned on BoingBoing, and in this article on School Library Journal's site:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6666677.html?industryid=47078