This article describes the process and role frontline access and public service staff play in needs assessment and evaluation of user services, specifically in understanding the voice of the customer. Information includes how the University of Arizona Libraries have incorporated daily data collection into the strategic planning process, resources…

This reexamination of earlier forecasts and statistics related to research library growth--Purdue studies first published in 1965, data and forecasts from Fremont Rider's 1944 book--shows mixed results for evidence of continuing rapid growth of collections and acquisition expenditures and marked decline in acquisition rates. (16 references) (EJS)

Argues that evaluating a library's collection is not an acceptable substitute for evaluating the collection development process and its developers. With increasing materials costs, overselection can be much more serious than underselection. Several useful methods for evaluating collection development incorporate statistics regarding proportional…

Discusses the benefits of the library collection assessment process, and describes how a small community college library is using a turnkey automated system and a microcomputer-based database program to generate special reports and statistical profiles to support an ongoing collection assessment project. (Eight references) (CLB)

Using OCLC-MARC tape records, master records were created for collection management reports at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to help evaluate collection growth by type of material, location, and subject, based upon LC call number. The Statistical Analysis System (SAS) was run against records to generate information for special purposes. (9…

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)

Introduction to the second part of a two-part series on collection development invites the reader to evaluate current collection development practice while considering changes, in light of recent innovations in library automation, resource availability, and format. Three major themes discussed in as many articles are briefly reviewed. (SD)