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As libraries increasingly automate and provide external access to their resources, a continual and growing need emerges for training of staff who implement, employ, and support these systems, and, in turn, train end‐users to exploit their new capabilities. The objectives and training techniques that have been adopted by individual institutions and technology providers vary, some being broadly structured toward educating staff members to function in the emerging electronic (virtual) library environment, some being more narrowly structured to facilitate adaptation and use of a specific new system that is being implemented. This symposium expresses the diverse training needs, experiences, and practices adopted by individual libraries, by consortia comprising a large number of libraries, by technology vendors striving to serve their library customers, and by academic computing services that share strategic responsibility for implementing online access to library resources.

The following annotated bibliography of materials on orienting users to the library and on instructing them in the use of reference and other resources covers publications from 1979. A few items from 1978 were included because information about them had not been available in time for the 1978 listing. Some entries were not annotated because the compiler was unable to secure a copy of the item. The bibliography includes publications on user instruction in all types of libraries and for all types of users from children to adults. To facilitate the use of the list, it has been divided into categories by type of library. Even though the library literature includes many citations to items on user instruction in foreign countries, this bibliography includes only publications in the English language.

The following is an annotated bibliography of materials published in 1978 on orienting users to the library and on instructing them in the use of reference and other resources. A few entries have a 1977 publication date and are included because information about them was not available in time for the 1977 review. Also some entries are not annotated because the compiler was unable to secure a copy of the information.

The following annotated list of materials on providing library orientation to users and instructing them in library and information skills is the tenth annual review of this literature and covers publications from 1983. A few items have not been annotated because the compiler was unable to secure a copy of these items.

The computer is every day looming larger on the professional horizon of every librarian. Instruction librarians, too, must confront the realities and potential of the computer in their efforts to bring the library into the pedagogical mainstream of their institutions. Reference Services Review takes this opportunity to offer three different perspectives on how the computer relates to library instruction. Carol Tobin, Princeton University, discusses the impact that access to online bibliographic databases has on the instructional program of a library; Harriet Tippet, Lawrence University, addresses word processing applications for producing instructional materials and the use of the computer as a management tool for library instruction data; and Patricia Culkin and Elizabeth Walker focus on computer assisted instruction.

The following annotated bibliography of materials on orienting users to the library and on instructing them in the use of reference and other resources covers publications from 1980. Several items from 1979 were included because information about them had not been available in time for the 1980 listing. Some entries were not annotated because the compiler was unable to secure a copy of the item.

IT is possible to look upon continuing education from a number of different perspectives. Some regard it as a method of personal self‐development, and what evidence already exists suggests that there is much truth in this. Some librarians would emphasise the need for staff to prepare themselves for new posts, or new responsibilities in their present posts; others will simply think of continuing education as a means whereby gaps in professional knowledge can be bridged. One of the many silly remarks in the Library Association discussion document, the Draft code of professional ethics, stated: “The librarian has … a continuing obligation in the interests of the client to keep abreast of developments and applications in all branches of professional practice in which qualifications and experience entitle him or her to engage”. The response of one department of library studies at least to the Green Paper pointed out the sheer impossibility of this—of doing a good job of work, eating, sleeping, looking after a family, and undertaking those high‐sounding social roles outlined in the foreword to the Green Paper, and keeping abreast of developments and applications in all branches of professional practice. All you can reasonably hope for is to keep abreast of what directly concerns you—and there may be a good deal of self‐development involved in that—and hope that one day there will be an opportunity to catch up or to extend your personal horizons.

Computer assisted instruction (CAI) is a powerful technology that librarians have been quick to discover. However, surprisingly little quality software exists for library applications. Librarians are faced by the necessity of designing their own software to support specific objectives. The design and production of CAI software involves numerous steps, which are discussed in this article.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the major political and economic changes in the world and the likely impact that these changes will bring to tourism and hospitality industries.

The paper adopts a geopolitical perspective on the dynamics of tourist flows, stipulating that geopolitics has a major impact on the size, structure, and direction of these flows.

The paper identifies six geopolitical drivers of tourist flows in the future, namely: the fall of the American Empire, the rise of the BRIC and the PINE countries, increased global political instability, increased importance of regional supranational organisations, greater control of the individuals on a global scale, and the greater importance and power of corporations than national governments.

The paper critically evaluates the geopolitical drivers of tourist flows, their likely future development and the impact they have on tourism.