Assessment and supporting data have become of increasing interest in librarianship. In this paper, we describe the development and implementation of the Northwestern University Library Acknowledgments Database tool, which gathers and documents qualitative data, as well as its component reporting function. This collaborative project and resulting…

The silo is a well-worn metaphor in information systems used to illustrate separateness, isolation, and lack of connectivity. Through the many iterations of system development, libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) have sought to avoid silos and find the sweet spot between interface design and metadata interoperability. This effort is being…

Any librarian who has managed electronic resources has experienced the--for want of words--"joy" of gathering and analyzing usage statistics. Such statistics are important for evaluating the effectiveness of resources and for making important budgeting decisions. Unfortunately, the data are usually tedious to collect, inconsistently organized, of…

Describes the development of a menu driven database management program to handle online search statistics reporting requirements for the libraries at the University of California, Los Angeles. Advantages of the program are discussed, including cost effectiveness, autonomy of search service reports, meeting the special needs of individual…

Examines issues regarding the privacy of information contained in patron databases that have resulted from online circulation systems. Topics discussed include library policies to protect information in patron records; ensuring compliance with policies; limiting the data collected; security authorizations; and creating and modifying patron…

Describes the Hawaii Department of Education's School Library Network Project and its approach to retrospective conversion for more than 200 school library media centers using a combination of 3 methods: in-house, full data entry; in-house, partial data entry; and full vendor contract. It is noted that a combination of these methods provides the…