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…

Describes the use of core journal network analysis and cocited journal mapping for studying the intellectual structure of scholarly fields and for evaluating journal collections to identify the most important titles in a discipline. Journals in the field of genetics are examined, and the use of spreadsheet software is explained. (31 references)…

This symposium report includes seven papers that address issues concerning the North American Collections Inventory Project (NCIP) Conspectus sponsored by the Research Libraries Group (RLG). Topics discussed include cooperative collection development; rigor and research in library and information science; decision making and uncertainty; and data…

Examination of citations indexed in Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) reveals salient patterns which can be helpful in determining interdisciplinarity and/or disciplinarity. Collection development efforts can be enhanced by examination of citation patterns of published research related to a classical social science author such as Jean-Jacques…

Reviews meaning and theory of library collections and structure and enumerates ways that data on collections can be organized to reveal underlying global structure (links and connections between collections, parts of collections, and users of collections). Definitions of terms applying to eight models described in text are appended. (53…

Discusses humanities scholarship from the research library's perspective. Topics include reference versus citation; bibliographic authority and authority control; library collection development which reflects a variety of research methodologies; retention policies; and the derivative nature of reference and citation.(LRW)

Two articles describe National Shelflist Count project organized 13 years ago under auspices of American Library Association's Resources and Technical Services Division to collect and publish comparative data about strengths and growth of major North American research collections. History, limitations, usefulness, and recommendations of 1983 task…

Discussion of the growth of electronic texts in the humanities focuses on issues that libraries should consider regarding collection development policies for electronic texts. Existing texts and applications are described; markup, or encoding schemes, are explained; cataloging is discussed; and software issues are considered. (Contains 27…

Results of this examination of the information needs and gathering behavior of social scientists, especially historians, suggests that existing library and information services may be based on a misunderstanding of their needs. Factors that need to be studied are identified, and research models are suggested. (CLB)

Discusses the use of quantitative collection development and use studies as research tools to evaluate the quality of children's library collections. Four studies, conducted in school and public libraries, that involve analyzing data with statistical tests are reviewed to show how data already being collected can be developed into research…