Discusses results of interviews at Canadian public libraries that were conducted to determine who users thought were responsible for collection development. Concludes that librarian's work is misunderstood because of its hidden nature and suggests implications for the image of librarians, recruitment, and staffing and funding of libraries.…

A study gathered information about producers and distributors of unabridged books on cassette tape for the use of librarians engaged in collection development. Questionnaires were distributed to 48 public libraries and 45 producers/distributors. This report includes an introduction covering the history of this medium and a rationale for collecting…

Describes a study that used the OCLC Online Union Catalog to identify those adult fiction books owned by the largest number of public libraries to determine whether a core collection of titles could be identified for use in evaluating adult fiction collections. Future research is recommended and a list of the top 99 titles is appended. (Author/LRW)

Describes the results of Flossmoor Public Library's long-range planning initiatives for youth services, which has resulted in improvements in collection development and programing. Evaluation procedures and techniques were recognized as valuable learning tools to increase the effectiveness of services, enhance communication with the board and…

Describes a plan developed by the Phoenix Public Library that involved all librarians working in branches in defining what constitutes excellence in professional performance in the areas of collection development, reference and reader's advisory services, and community interaction. Characteristics related to excellence are identified, and…

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…

To improve its service, the Offa (Nigeria) township library conducted a user study. The investigation found that 51% of users were students ages 19 and below and that 78% were males. Most users wanted extended hours, improved newspaper collections, more accurate shelving, and a consistent lending policy for all materials and users. (PEN)

Describes a project that modified the fill rate survey from "Output Measures for Public Libraries" to assess the library needs of middle school children. The resulting development of an up-to-date, graded nonfiction collection and its impact on library use by middle schoolers is discussed. The modified survey form is included. (five…

Describes the extent to which professional activity of library and information professionals is evident in the management of digital collections. Analyzes the digital collections of 11 randomly selected public libraries to determine patterns of professional practice, such as collection development or organization and representation of digital…

In 1995, a questionnaire was sent to Tennessee public and academic libraries with book collections of more than 5,000 volumes. The response rate was 48% and the sample included 44 public, 23 four-year academic and 7 community college libraries. Forty-three (56%) of these libraries collect local government publications. While, the earliest…

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 steps taken to improve usage of a public library young adult collection: (1) a survey of students' reading interests and needs; (2) analysis of the collection; (3) comparison of survey results with the collection; and (4) selection of additional titles. An annotated bibliography, the questionnaire, and survey results are appended. (11…

Presents preliminary results of Clearwater Public Library's study of the usefulness of "Output Measures for Public Libraries" as an indicator of reference performance, and the impact of collection development choices on reference output measures. Data on turnover rate, in-library use, reference fill rate, and reference transactions per…

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)

This paper reports the results of a circulation study in the government documents departments of a public library and an academic library. Based on a systematic random sample of the records of materials returned in 1981, the study had two purposes: to seek evidence to support the assumption that current documents circulate more than older ones;…