New Library Network: a leader is appointed for the implementation team at the LIC, and the New Opportunities Fund set to open for IT bids. NHS information: major electronic LIS projects are coming on stream.
Freedom of Information: the new bill is condemned by almost everyone. Public library closures: legal wrangles attack the problem from every angle.
Public libraries: amazing budget rises as libraries prove their relevance to local authority aims.
Local authority funding: chief librarians 'need to get their act together'.
Libraries Change Lives: Sheffield's Ad Lib scheme carries off the top prize.
Access: the Disability Discrimination Act moves forwards.
Scotland: the National Library exhibits those Churchill archives.
Further Education: national networking plans are out for consultation.
Schools: one-off gifts will not cure shortages, the Government is told.
International: a storm as a US cataloguing pioneer is side-lined; books head for South African schools; the copyright Euro-directive slouches on.
Reader development: arguments to sway the decision-makers, for a fiver, plus bright ideas for signers, minority languages and jaded readers.
The Big Read: LaunchPad's promotion catches people on the shop.
Columns
Broadcast News: libraries' success in reaching people is increasingly getting noticed, Fiona O'Brien reports.
Special Libraries: what's in a name? Mark Field squares up to the dinner party pedants.
National Year of Reading: Liz Attenborough showcases library successes.
Libraryland: who are these people called librarians? wonders Edward Dudley (as if he didn't know, rather better than most).
Mediawatching: Laura Swaffield seeks quirkiness - and finds Erica.