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In 1984–85, Reference Services Review published a series of review articles on field guides for wildflowers (Potts), birds (Klaas), trees (Kinch), and insects (Chiang). A glance at Books in Print indicates the number of new field guides appearing since that time. Rather than evaluate a new crop of highly focused field guides, the present essay examines a related kind of nature guide, the nature‐study manual. For the purposes of this essay, the nature‐study manual is defined as a guide that encourages investigation of the natural world, rather than offering facts and identifications. To be a nature‐study manual, a book must offer tools and techniques for identification (often through field guides), observation, recordkeeping, and often collection of specimens and experimentation. Books of narrative natural history and essays on a particular observer's experiences are thus excluded. The nature‐study manual's unique role is to instruct readers in how to observe and study nature for themselves, whether close to home or in far‐flung regions.

In the context of organizational change, identifying, and organizing the various roles of change agents remains a challenge for practitioners and scholars alike. This chapter examines how different agents can enable an effective change process. Empirical evidence from three hospitals illustrates the process of transformation and its underlying arrangements to identify agents and their roles. The findings underline the importance of designing a coherent system of agents, determining where they come from, their role during the process, and how this may change throughout the change process. Managerial choices in the cases are discussed, leading to implications for theory and practice.

This paper assesses how a social movement organization strategically framed its actions to simultaneously gain the support of multiple, diverse constituencies. The challenges associated with creating meaning and mobilizing potential partisans during the Indians of All Tribes (IAT) occupation of Alcatraz Island from November 1969 to June 1971 are examined through a qualitative analysis of movement-created texts. The IAT used a trio of distinct approaches to communicate with and gain the support of Native Americans and whites. Through inflection the IAT explained why they seized the island, emphasizing themes such as decolonization, democracy, and the importance of taking action. Through direction the IAT encouraged whites to write letters, sign petitions, and make donations while calling for a deeper engagement by Native Americans in the land seizure. Through deflection the IAT recounted normative stories to discourage whites and “wannabes” who failed to heed the organization's other directions about how best to participate in the takeover. These three framing processes build upon and extend social movement framing theory by complicating conceptualizations of allies and underscoring how movements seek distinct types of support from different adherents.

Since 1973, Reference Services Review has published an annual annotated bibliography of materials focused on library instruction and, most recently, information literacy. Publications addressing academic library activities continue to be represented in the largest numbers. The continuing growth of electronic information has made librarians, in all types of libraries, more aware of the need to provide ongoing instruction to library users.

Censorship never dies: like intellectual freedom of which it is a part, it goes on changing its form. The discussion reviews some of the key social, political, religious, artistic and moral factors, suggests that censorship is an area which pre‐eminently brings out the worst and best because it is more complex than it looks, because consensus is rare, because everyone thinks they are right, and because professional and personal roles work together and sometimes get confused. Statements about intellectual freedom and rights are aspirational for practitioners trying to make personal decisions about what is acceptable and accountable. Reference is made to political correctness, alleged harms, community standards, and the role of the information professional as an intermediary.

This paper aims to examine the effect of the characteristics of innovation and change adopters on the rate of adoption of environmental sustainability innovations in hospitals of Bihar state in India.

Data were collected from hospital administration, managers, doctors, nurses and staff working at various levels in both public and private hospitals of Bihar. Research model was tested using regression analysis with the help of statistical package for social sciences 24.

Innovation characteristics of relative advantage, simplicity, trialability and compatibility were found to significantly predict the adoption of eco-innovations while innovativeness and environmental opinion leadership failed to demonstrate any significant impact on sustainability adoption in hospitals.

This study provides important information to the change agents on how to diffuse green innovations in the unsustainable and inefficient areas and make them more sustainable. With no systematic investigation of sustainability innovations being done in the health-care sector in India, this study on eco-innovations in a resource-constrained state of India provides a fresh perspective and practical insights on the state of sustainability innovations in health care.

To provide research‐informed guidance to leaders of quality and safety improvement and evidence‐based materials for education programmes for leaders

Search of databases and hard copy literature since 1985 into managers' and leaders' role in quality and safety improvement. Classification into “eA”: Empirical research strong evidence, “eB”: Empirical research, weak evidence and, “eC”: Conceptual discussion, not based on systematic empirical research. Summary, and synthesis of the best available evidence for a guidance checklist for leaders.

Although most literature emphasises the importance of committed leadership for successful quality and safety improvement, research evidence supporting this is scarce and often scientifically limited. The research shows evidence of the limitations and scope of leader actions for improving health care provision, the need to engage clinicians in this work and ways to do so, as well as the leadership role played by others apart from senior leaders. The ability of managers and other leaders skilfully to tailor Q&SI to the situation may be important but descriptions of how leaders do this and evidence supporting this proposition are lacking.

More research is needed about whether or how the leader role is different according to the stage of quality and safety development of the organisation, the type of organisation, the type of context, the level and type of leader and the type of improvement and improvement method.

Implications for leaders' actions are provided in a “best evidence guidance” checklist. This provides more tangible and research‐informed guidance than the inspirational literature or studies from single organisations.

This paper provides the first overview and synthesis of a wide range of studies which can be used as a basis for future research and materials for educational programmes. It provides the first detailed guidance for leaders about specific actions which research suggests they need to take to improve quality and safety.