In the last decade Australian academic libraries have increasingly aligned their research support services with assessment criteria used in the national research evaluation exercise (Excellence for Research in Australia). The same period has seen growing interest in research impact outside of traditional measures, such as bibliometrics. Social…

From a fledgling technology with no proven business models, electronic books (e-books) have grown in importance usurping traditional formats as an acquisitions budget line in many academic library contexts. Business models include purchase, subscription, and pay per use. In academic and research libraries, web based e-book delivery is the dominant…

There has been little recent research into the roles and responsibilities of academic librarians in collection development in Australian universities. In 2007 the authors reviewed the findings of a 1994 study of collection management in Australian university libraries, examining current practice and taking into account the impact of technology…

This is a study on the operating efficiency of the public library system in Australia. Cost functions have been fitted to library data and the results are interpreted with a view to generating insights into the functioning of the existing library system. An exploratory cost benefit analysis has also been attempted. Activities of libraries have…

This issue includes nine articles that address the problems of library services for off-campus higher education programs. Highlights include guidelines versus standards for library services; accreditation expectations; five program models; distance learning for library education; the public library role; and programs in Canada, the United Kingdom,…

This paper discusses the Research and Evaluation Program at the State Library of New South Wales (Australia) and what it has revealed about clients' notions of value and relevance. An overview is provided of the services that have been developed in order to meet clients expectations, including reading room services and the development of the 3Tier…

Discusses the need for staff development programs dealing with library service to students with disabilities based on a study of Australian school libraries. Concludes that there is a need for library-specific staff development programs that cover policy formulation, collection development, and adaptive technology, and suggests a model for staff…

This paper discusses reference services in the digital library. The introduction provides definitions of a digital library, and the first section summarizes the purposes of a digital library system, as well as key roles for information professionals. The second section provides examples of mediated and unmediated digital reference. The third…

This paper discusses the impact of change on the State Library of New South Wales (Australia), a large public research library charged with the care and continuing use of a documentary heritage. The first section provides background on the State Library, including history, collection, mission, and use. The second section describes library clients,…

This study tested assumptions about self-sufficiency of academic library collections and the paradigm shift to providing access to information stored elsewhere. Inter-library borrowing statistics of Australian libraries were correlated with collection size. The study concluded that collection self-sufficiency is a fallacy and that the information…