Describes the use of the "Science Citation Index" in deciding whether to keep older basic science books that have failed to meet other criteria for collection retention. It is concluded that manual searching of the indexes proved feasible and reliable, while the lack of book titles on the online version reduced reliability of weeding…

Reprint of a 1964 article by David Kaser which presented mathematical formulas for estimating the collection sizes (in volumes) required to ensure minimum adequacy of academic library collections at institutions with widely different characteristics. Current article presents new formulas and illustrates their application at specific institutions.…

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…

The use of information regarding the ages of library items is a standard component of many approaches to weeding library collections, and has a long history in the literature of collection management. Current and past approaches to using aging information to make weeding decisions make use of very arbitrary decision criteria. This study examined…

Examines trends in the opportunity for adolescents to participate in readers' choice award programs. In addition to the extent of such programs, the discussion covers the characteristics of winning books, the benefits to adolescent readers, and the validity of using awards lists for library collection development. (six references) (CLB)

Describes a study that examined the feasibility of automating the process of library collection analysis, using collections in botany and mathematical analysis as the study population and bibliographic utility databases as sources of holdings information. The discussion covers the effectiveness of the methodology and potential uses of the results.…

Describes a study that compared holdings figures from the OCLC database to productivity measures from the "Journal Citation Reports" section of "Science Citation Index" and publisher circulation figures to determine whether there is a systematic relationship between easily gathered holdings and circulation figures and less…

Describes a study that established criteria for judging the scholarly value of dissertations and disproved the assumption that good dissertations will be published. Bibliographic access to dissertations is reviewed, and the need for librarians to reevaluate their attitudes toward policies governing dissertation acquisition is discussed. (27…

Noting that information is needed about libraries' roles in literacy activities in terms of the outcomes, the Library Programs Office of the U.S. Department of Education awarded the Division of Library Development a grant to develop a model that would evaluate literacy activities in such a fashion. A result of this effort, this library literacy…

Describes a study that examined the selection process used by two inmate/library assistants to develop Hispanic and African ethnic collections in a prison library. The findings of the study are used to develop a selection process model for the development of ethnic collections using the expertise of ethnic inmate/library assistants. (25…

This study evaluated the collections of all seven university libraries in Saudi Arabia against Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) standards. Data collected by questionnaire on holdings and collection development programs indicated that six libraries were below the ACRL standards. It was found that King Saudi University library…

Describes the development of an expert system to help in the selection of materials for academic libraries. A model of selection criteria is explained, computerization of the model is discussed, user-defined criteria are considered, and machine learning of rules through the use of algorithms is described. (18 references) (LRW)

Discusses serials cancellations; reviews library collection assessment policies and reasons for assessment studies; describes a survey of academic health sciences libraries that examined serials cancellation projects, including the decision-making process, regional or national cooperation, and the methodology used; and explains a generic serials…

Defines mechanical and expert selection of library materials and investigates the usefulness of mechanical selection in three test cases involving popular novels, German literature, and contemporary poetry. The cost of mechanical selection is examined and more quantification in selection practice is recommended. Data are presented in eight tables,…

Reviews the historical record of cooperative collection development activities and identifies fundamental problems that have hampered these activities. An argument is made for the need to implement a resource network approach which emphasizes short term need and resources as opposed to long range planning. (20 references) (CLB)