<br >Preface<br >Welcome to the 49th edition of the<br >analysis and practical information<br >Bowker Annual， a compilation of informed<br >of interest to the library， information， and<br >book trade communities.<br > It chronicles a year during which libraries faced both economic hard times<br >and new challenges posed by government regulation， and publishers and book-<br >sellers continued to wrestle with copyright and piracy issues and fought for "the<br >freedom to read."<br > This edition s Special Reports spotlight three areas of current interest.<br >Thomas M. Susman examines how libraries are coping with concerns<br >posed by the controversial USA Patriot Act， "a hastily cobbled-together<br >series of provisions constituting， in some instances， long-standing wish<br >sts of the federal agencies affected<br >Nancy R. John and Edward J. Valauskas look at the burgeoning growth<br >and evolution of Internet-based and digital journals， up from about 4，000<br >five years ago to about 28，000 today， and the changes the phenomenon<br >has brought about.<br >Evelyn Frangakis explores how libraries and archives are dealing with.<br >continual challenges in preservation as the range of archived materials--<br >from paper and audio recordings to moving images and digital content--<br >steadily expands.<br > Part 1 also includes reviews of the year s news and trends in public libraries，<br >school libraries， and publishing， and reports on the activities of federal agencies，<br >federal libraries， and national and international library and publishing organizations.<br > In Part 2， the year s legislation and regulations affecting libraries and pub-<br >lishing are detailed bill by bill， followed by reports from grant-making agencies<br >and funding programs.<br > Part 3 contains professional information for librarians: guides to sources of<br >scholarships and employment， a look at trends in library placements and salaries，<br >and a list of the year s major scholarship and award winners.<br > Part 4 contains a wealth of research and statistics， from a review of current<br >research projects to tables of library acquisition expenditures， book and periodi-<br >cals prices， and detailed publishing data.<br > Reference information makes up Part 5: who won the top literary prizes;<br >how to obtain an ISBN， ISSN， or SAN; lists of and statistics on bestsellers; and<br >notable resources for children and~Koung adults.<br ><br >