This study investigates the differences in children's comprehension and enjoyment of storybooks according to the medium of presentation. Two different storybooks were used and 132 children participated. Of these, 51 children read an extract from The Magicians of Caprona , about half reading an electronic version with an online dictionary, and the rest reading a printed version with a separate printed dictionary. The remaining 81 children read an extract from The Little Prince , 26 reading an electronic version, 26 reading the same but with narration and 29 reading a printed version. No dictionary was supplied with this storybook. The type of medium did not significantly affect the children's enjoyment of either storybook, and while it took them longer to read the electronic versions, this difference was only significant for The Little Prince . For both storybooks, comprehension scores were higher for retrievaltype questions than for inference ones. The use of the online dictionary in the electronic condition of The Magicians of Caprona was significantly greater than that for the printed dictionary in that condition. The provision of narration in the electronic version of The Little Prince led to significantly higher comprehension scores than when narration was absent. IntroductionTechniques to aid and improve children's reading skills and to motivate them towards further reading are always of interest to educationalists and to those involved in educational research. Thus, it is unsurprising that the increased availability of children's storybooks in electronic format should be an area of research interest.

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Describes the development and testing of a standard assessment method for the preservation needs of paperbased and photographic materials (including microforms) in libraries, which will facilitate an assessment of national preservation needs and priorities. After outlining how the research was carried out, it briefly describes the assessment method which was finally developed; explains why a sample-based approach was adopted and how libraries should choose their samples; discusses the core preservation management issues identified during the earlier part of the research and shows how a set of questions relating to these issues was developed for inclusion in the method.

Reports a British Library Research and Innovation Centre funded research project which aims to develop a method for assessing preservation needs in UK libraries and archives, and to develop the method in such a way as to facilitate an assessment of national preservation needs and priorities. Discusses what is meant by a preservation needs assessment, provides an overview of recent and ongoing preservation surveys and presents preliminary findings relating to key practical issues. Highlights the primary importance of good preparation and planning, the need to concentrate on "asking the right questions" to meet stated aims and objectives and the need to ensure that the assessment is not planned and carried out in isolation. The development of a national preservation needs assessment -fundamental to the development of a UK national preservation strategy -is considered in the light of these findings.

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