The financial environment within library and information services is reviewed and a structure for financial management is presented based on funding source and level of commercial activity. Objectives for financial management of library and information services is developed and reviewed in light of future trends and stakeholder perspectives.…

This 1996 National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) survey gathered data from a national sample of public libraries concerning the current level of public library involvement with the Internet. The purpose of this study was to: (1) provide policymakers, researchers, and library professionals with longitudinal data that…

Discusses the results of a nationwide survey (57 survey questions) of academic libraries that investigated fund-raising programs, including personnel involved; goals and costs of fund-raising; library donors, friends, and advisory groups; priorities; and factors of success, including involvement of the director and time on task. A copy of the…

Discusses factors involved in journal competition such as price, volume of literature, the not-for-profit and for-profit sectors, as well as foreign literature quality. Presents results of a study to gauge the stability of impact factor leadership in physical sciences journals by identifying the top 100 journals in 1983 and 1993. (Author/JKP)

Considers advocates and opponents of citation analysis use in the management of academic journal collections and describes the compilation of a relational database file to model an academic journal collection. The use of citation analysis is recommended for collection management based on cost figures presented. (LRW)

Reports on an analysis of the availability of publications contained in the 1991 "Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications" through depository libraries, the Government Printing Office (GPO) Sales Program and its Publications Reference File (PRF), and federal agency distribution centers. Implications for collection…

Serials collections are a costly but essential part of a library's periodicals holdings. Jacksonville State University Library's (JSUL) budgetary problems have forced librarians to examine their serials closely in terms of cost factors, indexing, expected usage, and curriculum and research support. The purpose of this project is to assess JSUL's…

Periodicals librarians in libraries supporting smaller public colleges and universities were surveyed on issues concerning their serials collections. Findings indicate cost increases are a problem, but most respondents believe their collections are meeting institutional demands. Questions remain, however, about the influence of rising periodical…

Discussion of the rising costs of academic library materials and their effects on collection development focuses on the social science collection. It is suggested that combining the numerical weights used by the Research Libraries Group Conspectus to evaluate subject collections with estimates of publication production and changes provides a…

Discusses the economics and value of information and describes a study that compared an objective measure, the estimated direct costs to a library to purchase materials or provide services used by specific users, with a subjective measure, exchange values those users would pay for the information. (LRW)

Reports on acquisitions of selected Western European political science materials deemed important for inclusion in at least one North American research library. The percentages of French, Italian, Swedish, Catalan, Icelandic, and Belgian materials not found in RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network) and OCLC are provided. Factors supporting…

Reports on a study that examined the impact of national information networks, particularly the Internet and the emerging NREN (National Research and Education Network) on academic libraries. Topics addressed include academic computer services; costs; and academic library services, including electronic journals, electronic collection development,…

Describes measures of cost effectiveness that are useful for academic library collections, based on experiences at the Louisiana State University libraries. Highlights include circulation analysis of newly cataloged books; current periodical use compared to cost; faculty ranking of journals; and circulation patterns (i.e., use versus cost and…

At the University of New Hampshire, serial publications took 80% of the acquisitions budget, yet staff knew less about that portion (6,000 titles) of the collection than any other. Librarians surveyed faculty to determine interdisciplinary use, cost of a "better" collection, acceptability of document delivery and interlibrary loans, and…

This preliminary study suggests that the same level of timeliness and accuracy can be obtained for answers to reference questions using resources in freely available World Wide Web sites as with traditional print-based resources. Discusses implications for library collection development, new models of consortia, training needs, and costing and…