Examines the role of the serials vendor in the collection assessment and evaluation process in academic libraries. Topics discussed include the subscription agency's resources, including databases; issues of quality, accessibility, and manageability; costs, both present and future forecasts; availability, including document delivery; and issues of…

Addresses changes in cataloging at the University of California, Berkeley. Discusses experimentation with pilot technical services (OCLC PromtCat, Bibliographic Record Notification, and Repeat Search); technical services staff reductions and the emergence of a new staffing model and motivating supervisors and staff to become more flexible and…

Describes strategies that academic libraries can use to stretch the collection budget in the face of increasing costs. Collection management measures are discussed, including cancellations, coordinated buying, and cooperative databases; budgetary strategies are described; and political factors are considered, including faculty support,…

Describes JSTOR (journal storage), an electronic full-text database composed of pre-1990 issues of 10 scholarly journals in the fields of economics and history. Considers linking current issues to the archive; pricing; controls over access; institutional subscribers, including libraries and campus networks; individual subscribers; and budgeting in…

Describes three projects implemented by the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale's library that are designed to empower the patron: (1) patron-initiated borrowing; (2) Interlibrary Loan Link on FirstSearch databases; and (3) implementation of Web-based interlibrary loan request forms. Explains the role of institutional support and…

Provides guidance to academic librarians for making cost-effective and appropriate purchase and networking decisions for electronic bibliographic database products. Topics include user needs, user and program demographics, academic computing and network support, delivery options, and considerations for the future. (Author/LRW)

Discusses issues that must be addressed by universities in order to ensure access to information resources by students and faculty, and possible roles of academic libraries within the electronic environment. Topics covered include the changing face of knowledge, costs of information technology, copyrights, and universities as organizations. (14…

Discussion of access to information in academic libraries focuses on the effects information technology is having and will continue to have on libraries and on users. Topics discussed include electronic publishing; CD-ROM; cooperative collection development and resource sharing; library networks; internal bibliographic and processing systems;…