Describes the collection assessment methodology presented in the Research Libraries Group's "Conspectus," and assesses the usefulness of this instrument both in general, and as applied to an attempt to coordinate collection development at the consortium level. (eight references) (CLB)

This report documents the procedures and problems encountered during the evaluation of Western Illinois University's library by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and proposes recommendations for future evaluations of university libraries. Basic problems with the NCATE evaluation involved: (1) an unqualified…

Discussion of public library standards focuses on an examination of four quantitative standards: hours of service, library resources, library staff, and library operating budgets, to determine if any agreement exists about them among states. Results indicate that there is no consensus regarding public library standards or approaches to public…

Effective management and the importance of feedback in relation to improvement are becoming critical issues for libraries. Upward appraisal evaluates managers' performance based on input from their staff, rather than the traditional top-down evaluation format in which a manager is evaluated solely by their superior. This paper discusses the…

Advocates the use of the Total Quality Management (TQM) model for libraries to survive financially and to retain their customers. An award for library quality based on the Malcolm Baldridge Award is proposed to enable institutions to use an evaluation procedure that rewards a commitment to continuous improvement. (Contains five references.) (EAM)

Following an introduction by Betty J. Turock, nine reports examine key issues in library evaluation: (1) "Output Measures and the Evaluation Process" (Nancy A. Van House) describes measurement as a concept to be understood in the larger context of planning and evaluation; (2) "Adapting Output Measures to Program Evaluation"…

This document reports on an assessment of the Jacksonville State University's Houston Cole Library collection that employed a variety of methodologies and tools, including list-checking, direct collection examination, shelflist measurement and analysis, WLN (Washington Library Network) conspectus sheets, analysis of OCLC/AMIGOS Collection Analysis…

Presents nine standards and indicators that can be used to evaluate library resource programs. The first three reflect the primary roles of teacher-librarians (i.e., information specialist, instructional consultant, and teacher); the next five represent instructional and management concerns and processes used to implement such programs; and…

The periodic review and development of public library standards are undertaken by the Kansas State Library to best serve the public interest by insuring the quality of the state's public libraries. Standards are defined for the structure and governance of libraries. Service objectives and standards for automation and technology are defined.…

This report presents a systematic review of the literacy services of the Vancouver Public Library (British Columbia), both to determine if those activities met the needs and expectations of local adult learners and to see if those activities compared favorably with general standards and with other libraries' literacy services. Data was collected…