This article derives from a review of key challenges confronted by libraries that are actively investing in online collections and services. Conducted in the first instance to help refine programmatic goals of the Digital Library Federation (DLF), it took account of digital library developments, successes, needs, and challenges perceived by…

Reports on results of an exploratory study of perceptions of collections by librarians in an academic library that provides both traditional and networked information services. Five librarians from a Midwestern university library were interviewed. Findings indicated an uncertainty about the virtual world in two particular areas: collection and…

Discusses the results of an analysis of the reference process in which behavioral outcomes were distinguished from the causal factors that inhibit the delivery of reference service. Data on reference services in 16 libraries are analyzed and presented in five figures and three tables. A 26-item reference list is included. (JL)

Throughout 1999 and 2000, 234 academic institutions in Canada--66 university libraries and 168 college libraries--were asked to respond to a survey of library services for off campus users. Previous surveys were conducted in 1984 and then again in 1988. It was felt that with the advent of the World Wide Web, increased levels of library automation,…

Reports findings of Project ACORN (Access to COurse Readings Across Networks) an eLib-funded project eliciting views of publishers on issues associated with electronic short-loan collections and the policies/procedures for granting copyright clearance. Findings show little consensus in policies and views; publishers wary of electronic environment;…

Data from 44 respondents in a survey of the 50 largest academic members of the Association of Research Libraries and the four largest black university libraries are analyzed in this report on reference services. Included in the analysis are data on reference and directional transactions collected by the fall 1976 LIBGIS survey for the institutions…

This 1974/75 survey with a follow-up study in 1980 assembles data on the management and use of vertical file (VF) collections in the 18 libraries of the City University of New York. Results of questionnaires sent to 188 reference department heads or reference librarians show that the sizes of the VF collections studied range from 1,000 to 79,000…

An appendix to a study that attempts to measure the service capabilities of public libraries, either in relation to the needs of their communities or to the standards adopted by the profession. (Author)

A needs assessment of the library services of the Lake Agassiz region of North Dakota was begun in 1974. A mail survey of the area population and an in-library user survey were conducted. Almost all libraries in the region fell below state standards on holdings primarily because the population base was inadequate to support 11 municipal libraries.…

Describes a study which linked the misconduct of proposing, performing, and reporting academic research to librarians' perceptions of service quality; explores implications of fraud for library collections and information services; and discusses factors meriting further research. Tables present examples of sources in which those implicated in…

Libraries assume a significant financial obligation in the provision of government publications and products. The Government Printing Office (GPO) service roles, service pledges, and depository library service roles are discussed. The GPO's Superintendent of Documents (SUDOCS), an electronic depository program, will place a significant financial…

Information is essential to the native people of Canada if they are to preserve their cultural heritage and determine their own destiny. The business of libraries being information, they need library services; however, they also need special information which only they can create, and they need to participate in the production and dissemination of…

This report summarizes views of government documents librarians interviewed during visits to 17 large research libraries throughout the United States in 1977. Information was gathered to alert the prospective planner of new or remodeled libraries to the special characteristics and problems of government documents collections and some alternative…

Based on information from the 1996-97 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Academic Libraries survey, this document presents statistics on libraries in U.S. higher education institutions. Specifically, data are provided on: circulation and interlibrary loan transactions; public service hours; number served, number of reference…

Considers trends in measurement and evaluation of reference service and summarizes research findings on the importance of reference work, library clientele, reference questions, duties of the reference librarians, and the effectiveness of reference service. Measures for the organization and performance of reference work, the adequacy of reference…