**Apologies for cross-posting**
     
     ---------
     UMBRELLA5
     ---------
     The Library and Information Commission will be attending Umbrella5. 
     Margaret Haines, LIC Chief Executive, will be speaking in session 3 
     (Friday 2 July 11:30 - 12:45) for the Multimedia Information and 
     Technology Group. The title of her talk is "The importance of a 
     co-ordinated national information policy framework in library network 
     development". Tim Owen, Head of Policy and Communications, and Barbara 
     Buckley, Research Programme Manager,  will be giving a presentation at 
     15:00 on Thursday 1 July entitled "What's new at LIC". The Commission will 
     also have a stand at the exhibition. Visit stand 56 to meet LIC personnel 
     and also pick up free copies of a number of LIC publications, including: 
     20/20 vision; Libraries the lifeforce for learning; Research Plan 
     1999-2002; General call for proposals; Current awards for library and 
     information services research.
     
     -------------------------------------------------------- 
     PRESERVATION COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS: INVITATION TO TENDER 
     --------------------------------------------------------
     On Friday 25 June, the Commission issued an invitation to tender for a 
     cross-disciplinary study that will identify all cost elements and benefits 
     associated with the preservation of the recorded heritage. The study 
     should also develop a methodological framework to help preservation 
     managers quantify both costs and benefits. The full tender document is 
     available from the LIC website at: 
     http://www.lic.gov.uk/research/preservation/tender.hmtl
     
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     NEW PUBLICATIONS
     ----------------
     Two new Library and Information Commission research reports have been 
     published recently:
     
     PAPERBACKS IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES
     by Joan Reuben and David Spiller
     58p
     LIC research report 2
     ISBN 1901786161
     Available from: Library and Information Statistics Unit, Publications 
     Section, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU. tel: 01509 
     223071; fax: 01509 223072; email: [log in to unmask] £17.50
     
     This work reports research into several aspects of paperback provision 
     in public libraries, and is the first substantial investigation into 
     the subject for twenty years. It will be of particular interest to 
     public librarians and to the book trade. There are four main lines of 
     enquiry: 1) paperback publishing patterns: the sequence of publication 
     for hardback and paperback versions of the same title, the time 
     intervals between the formats, and the price differences; 2) 
     paperbacks in public library practice: a survey reporting current 
     practice in UK public libraries of acquiring, reinforcing, cataloguing 
     and displaying paperbacks; 3) paperbacks and library users: surveys 
     reporting library user preferences for hard and paperback formats; 4) 
     paperback durability and cost-effectiveness: the performance of 
     different paperback reinforcing methods - in terms of loans and shelf 
     life - and their cost-effectiveness. A concluding section relates the 
     four sets of findings and presents them in a form of practical use to 
     public librarians involved in the provision of materials. The findings 
     will also help to inform decision making by publishers, booksellers, 
     library suppliers and bookbinders.
     
     JOINT SERVICE DELIVERY ARRANGEMENTS AS THE BASIS OF COOPERATION 
     BETWEEN LIBRARY AUTHORITIES
     by Margaret Hawkins and Ian Malley
     214p
     LIC research report 4
     ISBN 1902394062
     Available from: British Thesis Service, British Library Document 
     Supply Centre, Boston Spa, Wetherby West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ. tel: 
     01937 546229; fax: 01937 546286; email: 
     [log in to unmask] photocopy £12.00 UK; £17.00 overseas 
     microfiche £5.00 UK; £6.00 overseas
     The Executive Summary of this report will be made available on the LIC 
     website.
     
     Using Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland as its case study, this 
     project examines the philosophical, political and technical background 
     against which joint arrangements, which are defined as two or more 
     local authorities working together to provide a service in some sort 
     of partnership, have arisen in the 1990's. The experience of 
     authorities which have undergone reorganisaiton in the last four years 
     is used to achieve the following aims: 1) assess the value of joint 
     arrangements in building a stable framework for library co-operation 
     in the public sector; 2) examine the potential of contractual 
     frameworks for joint arrangements; 3) assess the economic value of 
     joint arrangements.
     
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     RESEARCH BULLETIN
     -----------------
     The first issue of the Library and Information Commission Research 
     Bulletin is due to be published at the end of July. This free new 
     title aims to provide a similar range of information, features, news 
     and reviews as the title it has succeeded - the British Library 
     Research and Innovation Centre Research Bulletin.
     
     Items in the first issue include:
     
     NEWS
     * Museums, Libraries and Archives Council - the story so far 
     * an update on a number of key LIC policy initiatives
     * DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund 1999/2000
     * a list of the successful projects from the information retrieval 
     call for research proposals
     * a report on the Career Development group conference - E-lucidate. 
     The electronic library in the new millenium: new directions and 
     initiatives
     
     
     FEATURES
     * Knowledge Management. The key issues and their relevance to the LIS 
     profession
     * Research into practice for public libraries. The significance of the 
     effective use of research by public library managers
     * Best practice in partnerships between libraries and the cable 
     service industry. Exploring factors in successful partnerships between 
     cable providers and libraries
     * Young people's reading habits at the end of the century. Looking at 
     how and where young people come into contact with the books, comics 
     and magazines they read and discovering what young people think about 
     the relationship between what they read and how they understand the 
     world.
     
     REVIEWS
     * New research in preservation management. A review of the LIC 
     preservation research programme detailing all the current projects
     * Research in the Telematics for Libraries Programme. An overview of 
     the European Commission's Telematics for Libraries programme.
     
     
     If you would like to subscribe to the Research Bulletin please forward 
     the following information to [log in to unmask]
     
     Title:
     First name:
     Surname:
     Work address:
     Tel:
     Fax:
     Email:
     WWW:
     
     Delivery address, if different from work address.
     
     **********************************
     Simon Matty
     Information Officer
     Library and Information Commission
     19-29 Woburn Place
     London WC1H 0LU
     
     tel:0171 273 8733
     fax:0171 273 8701
     email:[log in to unmask]
     ********************************** 



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