Recovery of significant achievements by exemplary individuals and institutions in public education and librarianship informs our present understanding and motivates future efforts. This narrative history recounts some of the struggles and successes of a great city library when the very conception of a free, public library was still being defined.…

Surveys some of the theoretical positions that underlie various qualitative research methods and discusses the methodological issues raised by those positions for use in library and information science research. Contextualization, understanding, pluralism, and expression are discussed; and qualitative research methods are compared with a…

Discusses digital libraries and provides brief accounts of digital library projects in different parts of the world. Reviews the literature on digital library research under 16 subject headings and suggests future directions. (Contains 114 references.) (LRW)

Examines the value of upward evaluation by reviewing historical outcomes of upward evaluations in industrial psychology/business literature and library literature. Also discusses the utilization of upward evaluation in libraries and focuses on results of the Western Kentucky University Libraries' annual process of supervisor evaluation. Appendixes…

Describes online catalog research being conducted in Europe in the areas of interaction and interface design, subject access, functional improvement through the application of information retrieval techniques, and library networks. Three operational online catalogs, not available outside Europe, are discussed. (30 references) (CLB)

Examines questions related to service quality, satisfaction, and outcomes assessment in academic libraries. Relates the literature of library and information science to each concept, identifies major research methodologies used, and offers suggestions for future research. (Contains 65 references.) (Author/LRW)

Nine papers make up this proceedings on bookmobile services to rural areas. The primary theme of the conference was "programming," with emphasis on quality of services and how to market the bookmobile in communities. Although the primary focus is on rural library services, many of the ideas in these papers can be applied to metropolitan…

Discusses the application and use of a microcomputer-assisted reference statistics procedure which allows for customized programs to be designed and determined by local, unique research objectives, service demands, and the ultimate use of the recorded data. A literature review of the development and use of reference statistics is included. (EM)

Seven articles discuss aspects of transaction log analysis, including introduction and definitions; history and development; components of an ideal logging facility; research methodologies; applications to a variety of library functions; practical and logical limits of the methodology; and future developments needed to enhance successful use of…

The Newberry Library, (Chicago, Illinois) lays claim to holding within the Edward E. Ayer collection the finest singler collection of books on the culture and history of native america. This paper discusses the mandates and challenges that confronted the Newberry staff when it mounted its quincentennial exhibition entitled, "American in…

Chronicles the development of distance education in library and information science from the pre-Dewey era to the present, including correspondence study, extension efforts, and telecommunications delivery. The literature and research on this topic are reviewed, and the Library and Information Science Distance Education Consortium, a group of…

This literature review examines multiple authorship relating to research on scholarly publishing within library and information science. Highlights include the history and function of collaboration; citation analysis; and the concept of authorship, including ethics of collaboration, productivity, and measures of collaboration. An appendix lists…

Suggests that the continued effectiveness of microformat library tools depends upon quality standards in the design of micropublications, the facilities in which they are used, and the reading/printing equipment they are used on. The "ideal" features of microform tools are described and a 131-entry reference list is included. (Author/JL)

Discusses the evaluation of library reference service; examines problems with past evaluations, including the lack of long-term planning and a systems perspective; and suggests a method for continuously monitoring and improving reference service using quality improvement tools such as checklists, cause and effect diagrams, Pareto charts, and…

Argues that a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures is most efficacious in library collection analysis. Cases drawn from the literature in which a combination of these measures was profitably applied are considered, and the types of software packages for purposes of data manipulation are discussed. (Contains 15 references.) (KRN)