Many research libraries are looking for new ways to demonstrate value for their parent institutions. Metrics, assessment, and promotion of research continue to grow in importance, but they have not always fallen into the scope of services for the research library. Montana State University (MSU) Library recognized a need and interest to quantify…

Although cited reference studies are common in the library and information science literature, they are rarely performed in nonacademic institutions or in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences. In this paper, we analyze more than 400,000 cited references made by authors affiliated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration between…

Academic libraries continue to face funding pressures compounded by the need to provide students with access to electronic resources, both in journal and book formats. With space constraints and the need to repurpose library space to other uses, libraries must carefully examine the move to e-only formats for books to determine if the format makes…

With the growing population of undergraduate students on our campus and an increased focus on their success, librarians at a large midwestern university were interested in the citation management styles of this university cohort. Our university library spends considerable resources each year to maintain and promote access to the robust…

Introduction: Our aim is to compare the advantages and problems of e-book acquisition identified in research literature to those experienced by two Swedish university libraries. Method: A literature review was used to identify the main issues related to acquisition of e-books by academic libraries. The data for comparison were collected through…

In 2005, the authors reviewed citation help in databases and found an error rate of 4.4 errors per citation. This article describes a follow-up study that revealed a modest improvement in the error rate to 3.4 errors per citation, still unacceptably high. The most problematic area was retrieval statements. The authors conclude that librarians…

Library school courses focusing on management and budgeting are as important as ever, as are continuing education opportunities for librarians who may not have encountered a severe economic recession. The journal crisis of the 1990s is still a fresh and unpleasant memory for many. However, for other librarians who may have graduated from library…

The year 2009 will be remembered as one of angst, with the economy dominating news around the world. Few libraries were immune to the extraordinary financial pressures. The library marketplace by year's end was in a weakened position, with prospects of a long recovery at best. Concern persists that even deeper budget cuts will come when federal…

As published critics of Hennen's American Public Library Ratings (HAPLR), the authors propose a new ranking system that focuses more transparently on ranking libraries based on their performance. These annual rankings are intended to contribute to self-evaluation and peer comparison, prompt questions about the statistics and how to improve them,…

In response to a hypothesis that researchers who no longer use print journals may miss out on the serendipitous benefits of "poor indexing" provided by print tables of contents, librarians at the University of Florida surveyed their engineering faculty to determine faculty use of tables of contents in either print or online format. Results…

Describes the historical development of the Canadian Periodical Index and explains the process used in determining subscription rates. (CHC)

Compares the compact disc read-only-memory (CD-ROM) Magazine Article Summaries (MAS) and Magazine Index Plus Backfile (MI+) in terms of system hardware, index coverage, searching capabilities, citation display, printing citations, local holdings, and miscellaneous features and costs. Finds in favor of MAS. (DMM)

Describes three in-house indexes produced at the Texas A&M University Library to facilitate access to energy-related materials, curriculum guides and other educational materials, and reference materials. Production, as well as time and cost factors, are discussed. Recommendations for producing in-house indexes are offered. (10 references) (MES)

The nature of criminal justice as a discipline and types of statistics it requires are discussed. Also included are descriptions of bibliographic sources of criminal justice statistics literature (criticizing methods used in gathering and presenting data and reporting statistics) and reference sources to primary sources of statistics. Sixteen…

This issue of the California Video Resource Project's newsletter includes a review of the two and a half year history of videotape programing and education at the Pocatello Public Library and a discussion of power sources for portable videotaping equipment. Approximately 60 articles from the summer issues of 14 video magazines are listed in an…