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The purpose of this paper is to introduce the genre of tabletop fantasy role‐playing games and provide guidance in building an initial collection.

The first part of the paper is designed to present the development of tabletop fantasy role‐playing games in a historiographic model, tracing the history of these games from the 1970s to 2006. The second portion is a bibliographic essay and critique of several noteworthy fantasy role‐playing games, including analysis of the settings and systems of each game.

The paper provides a history of the development of fantasy role‐playing games and provides guidance on how to start a collection. The study recognizes a lack of academic research on the topic and seeks to provide a brief introduction.

The paper provides a clear concise history of role‐playing game development and balanced advice for librarians who wish to begin collecting role‐playing games.

This paper begins to fill the need for academic study of the subject and provides practical advice for collection development librarians.

There is a danger of allowing competitive analysis to receive less than adequate attention in the marketing‐planning process as it is subordinated to a customer‐driven focus. Clearly important though customers are, they should not dominate marketing strategy and planning to the exclusion of other influential groups, one of these being competitors. With this in mind, a pilot research project was undertaken to gain a better understanding of how UK companies conduct competitive intelligence. From this pilot, a tentative typology of companies was developed to reflect four attributes of competitive intelligence activity: attitude, gathering, use, and location. Further research was subsequently undertaken to corroborate the findings of the pilot study, test the appropriateness of the typology and further develop the classification definitions. The research has resulted in a typology that illustrates a continuum of behaviour on the four strands of investigation. From this, an understanding of CI best practice can be deduced.

This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.

This study aims to describe reference service activity within a learning commons at a large research university. The researchers tested several reference models in order to explore new ways of providing research support to their patrons within the electronic library. The aim was to discover student responses to different models and to investigate patron need of, and desire for, research support at the learning commons.

The researchers combined measurements of type and frequency of reference traffic both in person and through their online chat reference service. They also gathered quantitative and qualitative information during the reference model experiments and through a survey of patrons in order to discover patron use of, and thoughts concerning, reference service in the electronic library.

Results from reference model experiments and a survey of patrons show that there is indeed an audience for research assistance in the electronic library and that in‐person research support is the preferred method of service. To keep pace with student needs, the researchers will continue to experiment with reference models that support in‐person research assistance beyond the traditional reference desk.

The researchers provide examples and guidelines for introducing new reference services in a learning commons environment and suggest ideas for further experimentation with reference models in a predominantly electronic environment.

The results of this study will be of interest to academic librarians, especially those who have or are planning a learning commons. This research is also of interest to those studying student research behavior and attitudes towards library collections and services. Because this learning commons is a unique environment as a stand‐alone electronic library, computing, and classroom space, this study makes an original contribution to the literature. As planners of learning commons explore models that move away from the traditional library, this study will inform the possible implications of new designs for reference service.

THE training model to be discussed is based on an integrated set of manual and mechanised indexing systems, all handling the same body of information from a limited subject field. By extending the scope of the model's operations to include prior and subsequent activities like the selection and abstracting of the documents to be indexed, and the preparation and dissemination of material through the use of the indexes, the model may be used for a wide range of documentation training, principally at three levels: demonstration by the lecturer to the students; use by the students in the retrieval and dissemination of information; and development by the students through the selection and abstracting of documents, the indexing and storage of information and ultimately the use of feedback from the dissemination stage to improve the systems.

The purpose of this paper is to define and then investigate the incidence of organizational leadership practices that encourage a culture of strategic thinking.

Discussions with 400 US healthcare executives attending focused educational seminars identified 18 leadership practices that encourage strategic thinking and 117 participants in subsequent seminars completed a survey assessing their use of the practices. Central tendencies, patterns across high and low users, and demographic differences were analyzed.

The two most frequently used practices involved reactions to crises. Executives using most of the practices employed long time horizons and made investments in human resource development and organizational learning. Industry suppliers and those responsible for parts of organizations were more likely to formally develop subordinates' strategic thinking ability.

While the study used a convenience sample with self‐ratings, it identified salient leadership practices for encouraging strategic thinking. This research should be expanded to other industries and countries. Case study methods would provide additional insight.

The findings support enhanced practitioner education regarding strategic thinking and provide practitioners with a place to start in looking for ways to enhance strategic thinking among individuals in their organizations.

The study fills a gap in the literature regarding specific ways in which organizational culture may impact strategic thinking in others. The study also provides a model for scholar‐practitioner inquiry, exemplifying practitioner involvement in methodology development and the interpretation of findings.

This paper looks at organizations at work to determine various effects on productivity. Six research‐based organizations were studied against a backdrop of dynamic impacts. After the application of several tests, the conclusion indicates that the optimal approach uses a variety of structures and elements to ensure a fluid and flexible organization able to deal with shifts in direction or impacts.