The ways in which university quality assessments are developed reveal a great deal about value constructs surrounding higher education. Measures developed and consumed by external stakeholders, in particular, indicate which elements of academia are broadly perceived to be most reflective of quality. This paper examines the historical context of…

Demand-driven acquisitions (DDA) programs have become a well-established approach toward integrating user involvement in the process of building academic library collections. However, these programs are in a constant state of evolution. A recent iteration in this evolution of ebook availability is the advent of large ebook collections whose…

This case study presents a conceptual model of researcher performance developed by Deakin University Library, Australia. The model aims to organize research performance data into meaningful researcher profiles, referred to as researcher typologies, which support the demonstration of research impact and value. Three dimensions shaping researcher…

There has been longstanding debate about whether the level of complexity of questions received at reference desks and via online chat services requires a librarian's expertise. Continued decreases in the number and complexity of reference questions have all but ended the debate; many academic libraries no longer staff service points with…

This essay criticizes the mathematical schedules of the 18th edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme and offers two alternatives suitable for college libraries that use this system. (Authors)

Presents a brief history of the Library of Congress (LC) Z schedule and recent LC modifications in the treatment of subject bibliography. Description of a university library system includes a schedule for political and social sciences subject bibliography (Z7161-7166) giving alternate class numbers for systematic placement of bibliographies. (17…

Provides formula for estimating number of Africana titles in large libraries using Library of Congress classification schedule. To determine percentage of Africana falling in DT section, distribution of titles in two academic libraries with separate shelflists is analyzed. Core categories of Africana and distribution of northern African titles are…

The adequacy of shelflist count was tested by determining the percent of titles in philosophy, political science, history, and sociology at Purdue University which were classified in Dewey or Library of Congress classes reflecting those disciplines. Included are two methods for correcting inaccurate shelflist counts, two tables, and seven sources.…

Investigates techniques for automatic classification of book material focusing on: computer-based surrogation of monographic material, book surrogate clustering on basis of content association, evaluation of resultant classifications. Test collection (250 books) is described with surrogation by means of back-of-the-book index, table of contents,…

Determines book obsolescence rates for instructional departments within university by analyzing annual library's circulation and relating patterns of library use to curricular programs. Immediacy and intensity of peak usage, use dispersion, and commonality of use were used to develop acquisition priority weighting formula. Twenty-two sources and…

Describes the Dewey Online Retrieval System (DORS), which was developed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), to experiment with classification-based search strategies in online catalogs. Classification structures in automated information retrieval are discussed; and specifications for a classification retrieval interface are…

Describes the role of browsing in online searching and difficulties encountered in attempting to browse call number indexes. The discussion covers the benefits of clustering class number ranges and strategies for overcoming the major problems related to Library of Congress classification use in an online catalog. (11 references) (CLB)

Discussion of precision in information retrieval highlights a prototype online catalog, ILSA (Improving Library Subject Access), developed at Indiana University of Pennsylvania that uses subject clusters and classification. Topics addressed include problems with keyword searching, controlled vocabulary, and thesauri; natural language mapping…

This article describes background and study process used by a committee of librarians and library administrators at Cornell University that has, over the past few years, significantly changed the structure of the paraprofessional staff classification scheme. Job Review Committee recommendations and job titles by "family" (library aide,…

Presents and appraises a scheme for classifying textbooks, which was devised and implemented in 1974 for Western Michigan University Educational Resources Center's textbook collection. A survey of classification systems highlighting Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal systems is included. Twelve sources are noted. (EJS)