This column assesses the state of library and information studies (LIS) research. Researchers and practitioners in various LIS fields address questions related to the research front and agenda for collection development; what the field needs to advance further; whether it needs a more sophisticated conceptual or theoretical framework; operational…

Undertaken to provide data on the current status of collection development in selected academic libraries, this study also analyzed the structure of the collection development function at Chicago Academic Library Council (CALC) institutions and outlined a formal collection development policy for Chicago State University's Douglas Library.…

This self-study was initiated at the Columbia University Libraries (CUL) to establish the foundations and appropriate mechanisms for the future planning, development, and implementation of public services at CUL. Following completion of an inventory and an interim report, which include background data on CUL, Columbia University, research…

This paper reports a self-study undertaken at Cornell University's Albert R. Mann Library to explore appropriate public services for an agricultural research faculty. The study took place over a 22-month period and involved a literature review, development of a questionnaire, administration of the questionnaire, an experimental period of…

Library literature from the late 19th century to the present offers numerous guides to materials selection. Yet, collection development policies and lists of selection criteria are inadequate for humanities electronic texts. Libraries, humanities disciplines, and electronic texts are too complex for any rigid approach to acquisition. To meet goals…

Based on interviews with 29 librarians at a midwestern research university, this publication serves as a benchmark for what it is like to work as an academic librarian in a U.S. research university in the mid-1990's and considers changes occurring within the wider field of librarianship. Chapter 1 begins with a broad overview of the concept and…

Evaluating library collections by comparing them to bibliographies has a long history in research libraries. This evaluative study examined all 107 titles within the "Women in Botany" section of the Herbarium Library at The Ohio State University (OSU). The Herbarium is not part of the OSU Library system, but functions as a satellite to…

Arguing that library and information needs should be met at the national, rather than at the local level, this report analyzes ways to meet these needs with special reference to the role of national libraries. The first two chapters highlight such library and information concerns as: (1) collection and preservation of documents of national…

Discusses the needs of multicultural students and examines the responses of three academic libraries in addressing those needs by developing support services. Examples of programs in library instruction, reference service, collection development, and academic program support are included; setting priorities is discussed; and the potential role of…

This publication provides librarians with a broader understanding of outsourcing issues in academic libraries. The book investigates the literature, then presents a survey of more than 200 academic research libraries involved with outsourcing projects. This book synthesizes prevailing theories and practice, details pros and cons, an outlines steps…

This paper presents an annotated bibliography of 69 articles published in the 1990s that examine the impact of technology on reference service in public, school, and academic libraries. The paper is organized in the following seven parts, each dealing with a different type of application of technology: (1) "General Change Caused by…

Argues that preservation and collection development can be effectively coordinated only when the underlying political forces driving these two operations are defined and compared. The discussion explores some of the functions and values of preservation and collection development from a primarily political point of view in three contexts:…

In April 2000, the Digital Library Federation commissioned three reports to address broader concerns about digital collections in research libraries. This report synthesizes the nearly 10 years' experience that libraries have had digitizing items from their rare, special, and general collections, and making them available online. The report…

The role of the research library and issues in access to increasing quantities of information are discussed, including the problems of cataloging and classifying information and the barriers to access often created by librarians. (MSE)

Womens' studies librarians' view that women should be represented at the center of library collections and services generates conflict in the United States academic library. An examination of the development of a women's studies research library in the Rutgers University Libraries System between 1970 and the mid-1990s reveals the bibliographic and…