In the academic libraries' efforts to support digital humanities and social science, GIS service plays an important role. However, there is no general service model existing about how libraries can develop GIS services to best engage with digital humanities and social science. In this study, we adopted the action research method to develop and…

The Saskatchewan Music Collection (SMC) is a local music collection held at the University of Saskatchewan. This case study examines a project to digitize and present this unique special collection in the online environment. The project aims to facilitate access to the collection, preserve the collection and promote scholarship and interest in the…

With both budget dollars and buying power shrinking for academic library collections, the selection of materials is a series of crucial choices. With increases in numbers of online programs, how can we determine if what we are buying is in fact what our users need? E-reserves are an increasingly popular way to provide digital copies of course…

Any librarian who has managed electronic resources has experienced the--for want of words--"joy" of gathering and analyzing usage statistics. Such statistics are important for evaluating the effectiveness of resources and for making important budgeting decisions. Unfortunately, the data are usually tedious to collect, inconsistently organized, of…

Tufts University Hirsh Health Sciences Library created a Facebook page and a corresponding managing committee in March 2010. Facebook Page Insights data collected from the library's Facebook page were statistically analyzed to investigate patterns of user engagement. The committee hoped to improve posting practices and increase user engagement…

Discusses associations between levels of service point use, population information and library inputs, based on data from two London boroughs in respect of individual static service points. Outlines methods of deriving catchment area data using membership information or postcode data from a user survey. Describes a method for librarians seeking to…

Describes an effort to quantify annual collection expansion and shelf space capacities with a computer spreadsheet program. Methods used to quantify the space taken at the beginning of the project; to estimate annual rate of collection growth; and to plot stack space and usage, volume equivalents and usage, and growth capacity are covered.…

This symposium report includes seven papers that address issues concerning the North American Collections Inventory Project (NCIP) Conspectus sponsored by the Research Libraries Group (RLG). Topics discussed include cooperative collection development; rigor and research in library and information science; decision making and uncertainty; and data…

Describes a methodology which analyzes courses described in university catalogs in order to produce a database used in the compilation of a collection development policy statement. Each step of the analysis is described, and tables are used to track sample data through the entire process. (CLB)

Discussion of journal pricing and its effects on academic libraries focuses on data from the Optical Society of America's pricing study that used price per 1,000 words as a quantitative evaluative tool. Data collection methodology is described, and implications of the results for library collection development are suggested. (eight references)…

A shelflist sampling project was conducted at six academic libraries in Louisiana--Loyola University, Louisiana State University, Nicholls State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, Southern University, and Tulane University--and the University of California at Santa Barbara. The main objective of the data-gathering and analysis using…

Two articles describe National Shelflist Count project organized 13 years ago under auspices of American Library Association's Resources and Technical Services Division to collect and publish comparative data about strengths and growth of major North American research collections. History, limitations, usefulness, and recommendations of 1983 task…

In 1989, the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) introduced a microcomputer-based evaluation tool called the Collection Analysis CD. In 1993, the SUNY Stony Brook Libraries used this tool to measure its collections against those of 27 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) peer libraries and of a "mythical" peer group. In 1996, the…

Collecting statistical data about database usage by library patrons aids in the management of CD-ROM and database offerings, collection development, and evaluation of training programs. Two approaches to data collection are presented which should be used together: an automated or nonintrusive method which monitors search sessions while the…

This packet is designed to guide users through the steps that ultimately lead to the assignment of collection responsibilities for individual member libraries of the North Bay Cooperative Library System, Santa Rosa, California. An initial profile of the member libraries examined the subject distribution of books owned, availability of books owned,…