Discometrics, a field of study technically related to bibliometrics, employs statistical analysis of discographies to ascertain public demand for classical music. In addition to providing a tool for collection development, discometric surveys may have a variety of uses for educators, record company executives, music dealers, and scholars. (4…

Noting that librarians have long debated whether specific library functions may, or should, be scientifically examined, or whether they constitute an art not susceptible to scientific study, this paper reviews and critiques attempts to develop models of library material selection using the theories and methods of scientific investigation. First,…

Reports on output measures that can give children's librarians additional information to better control collections and make better selection and weeding decisions. Statistical comparisons utilizing circulation data (comparing circulation year to year, circulation to patrons served, circulation to number of materials owned) and availability of…

Reports results of survey investigating aspects of weeding of materials in reference collections at 377 U.S. colleges and universities: existence of written policy or unwritten weeding practice; extent of weeding; frequency; what happens to discards; effect of shelf space, staff time, and use of materials on weeding decisions. (5 references) (EJS)

Describes survey of 500 academic business libraries undertaken to gather information on practices in acquisition, use, retention, and storage of domestic and foreign corporate annual reports, and policies related to their circulation and cataloging. Options for libraries collecting these materials are proposed. Institutions in subset are listed.…

This study was conducted to field-test collection mapping as an evaluation technique, to determine collection standards against which individual schools could compare themselves, and to compare the collections in schools to nationally-recommended lists published by Brodart and Wilson. Questionnaires were sent to 120 library media specialists in…

Second survey report (first was published October 1983) presents information on expenditures in library media centers for resources and audiovisual equipment, condition of collections and patterns in collection development, staffing and educational background of head library media specialist, and patterns of use of microcomputers by students and…