Examines differences between library management and information resource management (IRM). Highlights include a historical perspective of library management education and IRM; the organizational perspective of library management and the emphasis of information as a resource in IRM; library management and advances in information technology; and…

Explains benchmarking, a total quality management tool used to measure and compare the work processes in a library with those in other libraries to increase library performance. Topics include the main groups of upper management, clients, and staff; critical success factors for each group; and benefits of benchmarking. (Author/LRW)

The Canadian and American academic library environments are remarkably similar. This factor is traceable to similarities between the nations themselves and their academic institutions. Both countries have experienced comparable shifts in governmental support and growth patterns in the academic library sector. This has led many to observe that…

Although librarians in approximately one-third of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) have a rank or status similar to other faculty, their activities, responsibilities and involvement vary considerably. A survey was conducted to determine the autonomy of library faculty organizations and their role in library and university governance, and…

The first Soviet-American Library Seminar provided general comparisons and contrasts, similarities and dissimilarities, between Soviet and American libraries, and stressed the differences in understanding library terms, the need for long-range planning, demographic changes and their effect on library services, and library automation. An…

The crisis in collection development afflicting most members of Association of Research Libraries since the 1970s moved Indiana University Libraries to undertake a rationalization of their budget allocation procedure in light of a comparative study of peer institutions and to draft a new policy based on regional cooperation. (6 references)…

Discussion of the use of CD-ROMs in academic library reference departments focuses on types of instruction librarians can offer and their possible impact on other reference services. Classroom instruction versus point-of-use instruction is compared, and implications for librarians and library management are considered. (Contains 23 references.)…

The development and use of library statistics in the Soviet Union and systems of reporting are discussed in this speech by E.A. Fenelonov, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic, and are compared with statistical development in the United States by Vernon E. Palmour of King Research, Inc. Fenelonov emphasizes the use…

After comparing 1976/77 statistics for library acquisitions, services, and administration personnel with those for 1975/76, the document presents lists, arranged alphabetically by the names of the librarians involved, of the following kinds of information: committee memberships and elective offices held in professional organizations; presentations…

Suggests that libraries use a military model of organization, in favor of a big-business approach, to address job dissatisfaction among paraprofessional staff. Military concepts that transfer to the library milieu include clear responsibility delineations, demonstrable recognition of the value of individual workers, continuing education programs,…

Analyzes the impact of the rising cost of materials on academic libraries as reflected in members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Highlights include total library expenditures; materials expenditures; comparisons with price indexes; and the impact of journal…

Explores controversial questions related to libraries' decision-making on paper journals and electronic journals. Notes that the critical mass of scholarly publishing is still in print. Discusses benefits and drawbacks of electronic journals and paper journals. Presents comments on the pros and cons to binding paper periodicals gathered from an…

Compares academic libraries in Japan and Australia in three areas: general background (number of libraries, financial support, size of collections, and student/staff ratios); the role of libraries (services offered, library instruction, accessibility, library cooperation, and expenditures); and library staffs (qualifications of directors, staff…