Discusses some current cooperative library research projects, lists areas needing further research, mentions negative perceptions commonly held about research, and speculates on the goals of future research. Opinions are based on the author's informal survey of state librarians. (FM)

The purpose of the study reported here was to determine the effectiveness of the revised New York State Depository System, which had been operating for more than two years when the survey was conducted. Data were gathered from the depository libraries about their organization, bibliographic control and staffing, and to determine whether or not…

Reports results of a survey of state library agencies' research on public library operations and services. The appendix provides information on the contact person, the title of the study, and availability of materials for the 29 agencies responding to the survey. A copy of the questionnaire is included. (13 references) (MES)

Based on data gathered during a full 5-day, 40-hour week of visiting time, this study determined various characteristics of visitors to the New York State Library (NYSL) main facility; e.g., traffic rates, user intent, and user status. Visitors exiting the library were counted, short interviews were conducted with 25 percent of the total visitors…

Describes a three-phase national study examining the concepts of cooperative library ventures and combined libraries to determine which institutional structure had the most potential for improving school and public library services in the state. (CMV)

Methodologies and findings are reported for a two phase study focusing on the role of the state library system in relation to institutional needs. The first phase consisted of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with the management of each of six government agencies and institutions with actual and potential needs for library system services; the…

This report describes a pilot project to develop a Cooperative System for Public Library Data Collection, which would enable the Center for Education Statistics (CES) of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement to issue national statistical reports on public libraries by using data collected by state library agencies in their annual…

From January 1980 through December 1982 the Illinois Valley Library System (IVLS) and 33 of its participating libraries conducted an experimental project to test the costs and benefits of OCLC use in small and medium-sized libraries. A series of 8 reports on the project have been produced, and the tables from the first report, which give…

To determine what content and design features may be included in the new design of the State Library of Ohio's World Wide Web site, the researcher conducted a content analysis of the World Wide Web sites of the fifty state library agencies, using the COSLA (Chief Officers of State Library Agencies) index as the access point. Specifically, content…

Measurements of materials and library operations were carried out in five public libraries and an observation study of staff work was conducted in the Hawaii State Library. The goals of this phase of the larger state study included testing and modification of measures to ensure their applicability to public libraries in the state, and the…

The instructions provided for carrying out data collection and analysis procedures for library materials, services, and users include sampling techniques. Evaluation methodology is described for determining the probability of a user finding and obtaining a recently published book in a particular library, title and periodical availability, how a…

In 1988, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, a research team from the School of Library and Information Science at Indiana University began a study of the origin, development, and diffusion of the Public Library Association's (PLA) planning and evaluation manuals. The study was intended to add to the general understanding of the…

This general summary of the results of a library study conducted in Hawaii presents the major findings from the survey of residents, the library staff survey, the government agency survey, and the measurements conducted in five Hawaii libraries. Major recommendations for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of library performance are…

The development of a mathematical model of the Illinois Library and Information Network (ILLINET) is described. Based on queueing network theory, the model predicts the probability of a request being satisfied, the average time from the initiation of a request to the receipt of the desired resources, the costs, and the processing loads. Using a…

Analysis of data on 100 libraries of all types reports the number of libraries holding different categories of software, as well as total number of software packages owned and most popular titles in each category. The categories identified were word processing, data management, spreadsheets, communications, educational, library-specific,…