Purpose -To provide a selective bibliography in the emerging area of library content personalization for the benefit of library and information professionals. Design/methodology/approach -A range of recently published works (in the period 1993-2004), which aim to provide pragmatic application of content personalization rather than theoretical works, are discussed and sorted into ''classified'' sections to help library professionals understand more about the various options for formulating content as per the specific needs of their clientele. Findings -This paper provides information about each category of tool and technique of personalization, indicating what is achieved and how particular developments can help other libraries or professionals. It recognises that personalization of library resources is a viable way of helping users deal with the information explosion, conserving their time for more productive intellectual tasks. It identifies how computer and information technology has enabled document mapping to be more efficient, especially because of the ease with which a document can be indexed and represented with multiple terms, and confirms that this same functionality can be used to represent a user's interests, facilitating the easy linking of relevant sources to prospective users. Personalization of library resources is an effective way for maximizing user benefit. Research limitations/implications -This is not an exhaustive list of developments in personalization. Rather it identifies a mix of products and solutions that are of immediate use to librarians. Practical implications -A very useful source of pragmatic applications of personalization so far, that can guide a practicing professional interested in creating similar solutions for more productive information support in his/her library. Originality/value -This paper fulfils an identified need for a ''review of technology'' for LIS practitioners and offers practical help to any professional exploring solutions similar to those outlined in this paper.

Purpose -The paper aims to assess the level of preparedness of the Central Libraries of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to personalize content and seeks to determine whether the personalization service prototype being developed at IIT Kharagpur can be extrapolated to the remaining IITs. Design/methodology/approach -A questionnaire was sent to the Librarians of the seven IITs, designed to compare the available information resources and services, with special emphasis on user interests and personalization aspects. The survey was supplemented by study visits to a couple of the Institutes. Findings -Kharagpur and Mumbai have implemented personalization services in some form while the remaining IITs plan to adopt them in the near future. There is also a strong case for extending Kharagpur's personalization service, currently in project mode, to the other IITs. Research limitations/implications -IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur failed to return the questionnaires, so relevant information regarding these Institutes had to be collected from their web sites and other available sources. There is also scope for further research to accurately access the current status of personalization activities in all the IITs. Practical implications -With parallel interests and similar research and information facilities, personalization services in one IIT can be replicated and utilized by all the others, leading to greatly enhanced library services in all the Institutes. Originality/value -This one of a kind survey underlines the need for and possibility of making content personalization a reality in advanced technical libraries. The results obtained are valuable to all IIT libraries in particular and academic/technical libraries in general.