A survey of synagogues in upstate New York was conducted to determine the success of their libraries despite minimal professional input. The areas of circulation, collection growth, staffing, hours of operation and cataloging practices were evaluated as indicators of success. Results showed that synagogue libraries are meeting the needs of their…

Describes the role of the information specialist in a corporate information center and discusses the three areas that define this role--collection, access, and service. Advantages and disadvantages of being a corporate information specialist are considered. (one reference) (MES)

Describes a major deaccessioning (weeding) project begun in 1985 at the library of the Nebraska State Historical Society, including a brief history of the Society and the events leading to the decision to weed. Public controversy over the handling of the project, benefits of the weeding, and new acquisitions policies are also discussed. (MES)

Provides a description and assessment of the merger of the government publications division and the maps division at the San Diego State University (California) library that was necessitated by budgetary constraints. The impact on patrons is discussed, including reference assistance, arrangement of materials, reference and circulation policies,…

Describes the history of multitype library networks; examines the reasons why special libraries and other network participants have resisted the inclusion of special libraries in these networks; and discusses the benefits to both special libraries and to other libraries in the network that would result from special library participation. (17…

Describes an exploratory study of government agency libraries that was conducted as a first step in the development of a theoretical framework to study the role of information provision by libraries in policy-making contexts. The library functions discussed include tracking issues and clientele, retrieving relevant information for clientele, and…

Examines the nature of corporate change and its impact on academic business libraries' corporate documents collections. Approaches librarians may use to monitor and manage change are discussed, and several relevant printed and online sources are noted. (five references) (MES)

Provides overviews of expert systems and library material selection, and describes six steps in the process of the development of the Monograph Selection Advisor, a demonstration prototype expert system that provides advice on monograph selection decisions. (17 references) (MES)

Indicates ways in which resources for educational advising as a special library operation can be systematically developed. Six groups of advising resources, both print and nonprint, are included: college and university guides and directories, background or support works for American higher education, specialized guides and directories, guides…

Describes a method of analyzing serials collections in special libraries that combines evaluative criteria with database management technology. Choice of computer software is discussed, qualitative information used to evaluate subject coverage is examined, and quantitative and descriptive data that can be used for collection management are…

In building an emergency management library collection within a training institution, technical data become secondary to identifying common goals, methods, and systems found at the federal, state, and local levels for responding to and planning for disasters and crises. These goals help identify emergency management skills public officials should…

An analysis of the occurrence of conference proceedings in physics journals indicates that libraries may be spending a significant portion of their serials budget for conference proceedings that they may not have chosen to buy as separate monographs. It is suggested that conference proceedings should be published as monographs or in an electronic…