Explores library consortia in the United States with particular focus on academic libraries. Highlights include the history of early consortia; economic issues, including sharing resources and cost savings; types of consortia, including regional, statewide, and those with a focus on automation; and groups of consortia. (Author/LRW)

Describes the competitive bidding process used by California State University to successfully procure integrated library systems for 5 of its 19 campuses during 1 fiscal year. The procurements demonstrated that competitive bidding not only reduces overall cost of library systems, but also allows the buyer to achieve favorable contract provisions.…

Describes the method and circumstances which allow for free online searches at the California State College-Stanislaus Library. Discussion includes reviewing search requests, feeless flexibility, and cost effectiveness. (JVP)

Discusses issues and procedures involved in auditing the automated acquisitions system at Ohio State University Libraries. The audit process is explained, internal controls within the system are identified, general control mechanisms such as limited electronic access are discussed, and application control mechanisms that relate to specific…

Discusses the increased costs of library materials, the need for a new budgeting approach, and the impact of technology. The development of a library materials index that was developed at Ohio State University to provide a consistent source for measuring library materials expenditures against the marketplace is described. (Contains 14 references.)…

Describes results of a 1990 survey that provides statistical data on the serials holdings of 57 university libraries in Canada. Topics discussed include serials budgets; integrated serials departments; serials automation; selection of new serials titles; ordering and acquisitions; claiming; cataloging and related functions; binding; and transfer…

Describes the networking of CD-ROM drives in libraries to accommodate users' simultaneous access to the same CD-ROM. Highlights include costs; vendors who supply local area network hardware and software; licensing practices; and a sidebar that describes the use of CD-ROM networks at Vanderbilt University and the University of Kansas. (LRW)

Technological advancement in academic library resources sharing, networking, and information transfer have developed dramatically in the past decade, with institutions (including nonacademic libraries) finding themselves hard pressed to acquire the resources necessary to institute or otherwise improve their networking capabilities. Further, these…

Technological advancement in academic library resources sharing, networking, and information transfer have developed dramatically in the past decade, with institutions (including nonacademic libraries) finding themselves hard pressed to acquire the resources necessary to institute or otherwise improve their networking capabilities. Further, these…

Computers have had a tremendous impact on library services as automation has affected every aspect of library activity. Automated systems may be viewed as either internal, intermediate, or external, and different factors must be considered in planning for various types of systems. Internal systems, which are used only by library personnel, handle…

Replacing a January 1980 publication of the same title, this collection of cost tables and other documentation from library materials cost studies conducted by members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) or by library vendors contains excerpts from: (1) local cost studies conducted at Colorado State University, Indiana University, Iowa…

Discusses features of online library catalogs and their cost characteristics, including financial management and planning (hardware and software options, turnkey vendors); approaches to cost analysis (actual experiences, building blocks); baseline estimates for two average academic libraries; and vendor estimates. Forty-five references and a…

Presents results of a longitudinal study conducted at the Iowa State University Library that investigated the changes in task times, staffing patterns, and personnel costs for cataloging information expanded. Results show the proportion of time spent at tasks, trends in changes over time, and per title cataloging time and costs. (seven references)…

This compilation of statistics from 68 historically black college and university (HBCU) libraries presents individual, total, and ranked order summaries of library statistical information for: (1) the numbers of volumes in the libraries; (2) volumes added gross; (3) total current serials; (4) microform holdings; (5) materials expenditures; (6)…

This study of state university libraries in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates provides information on library organization and analysis of collections, services, staffing, budgeting, expenditures, automation, and information technology. Suggests further research is needed in collections, services and…