The year 2009 will be remembered as one of angst, with the economy dominating news around the world. Few libraries were immune to the extraordinary financial pressures. The library marketplace by year's end was in a weakened position, with prospects of a long recovery at best. Concern persists that even deeper budget cuts will come when federal…

As published critics of Hennen's American Public Library Ratings (HAPLR), the authors propose a new ranking system that focuses more transparently on ranking libraries based on their performance. These annual rankings are intended to contribute to self-evaluation and peer comparison, prompt questions about the statistics and how to improve them,…

Comparative data are given for periodical price changes for 1976-78. Tables include price changes in library rates for scientific literature; percent of total subscriptions processed and total expenditure for various periodical price ranges; comparisons of prices for domestic and foreign titles; and journal price ranges for selected subject…

Nine tables compare prices, indexing coverage, and library popularity of periodical titles for 1977 to 1979. Titles are chosen from indexing services' authority groups and are listed by subject. Based on number of library subscriptions from indexing services, a "weighted price" serves as a budget guideline. (SW)