Discusses policy, law, and administrative issues that must be resolved by a national commission to study public lending right, which was proposed in a 1985 bill. Examples from the United Kingdom and other countries are used. (EM)

Discusses statistical analyses of the effect of reduction in opening hours on book issues, or borrowing, of public library authorities (PLAs) in the United Kingdom. Demonstrates the difficulties involved in using statistical data to make accurate predictions of the impact of opening hour reductions on borrowing. (Author/LRW)

The Index of American Public Library Circulation dates back to 1939, and the Index of American Public Library Expenditures to 1951. These indexes are based on annual reports from a sample of all American public libraries serving more than 25,000 people each. Using the 1982 American Library Directory, the researchers identified 1,586 public…

Explains the concept of Public Lending Right (PLR), which provides for payments to authors based on the circulation of their books by public libraries, and describes the British experience with PLR since 1979. Issues involved in PLR and the possibility of its adoption in the United States are also discussed. (MES)

Compares users of a traditional human-mediated checkout system with users of a self-service system in a Canadian public library to determine if and why patrons will use self-service if given the option, and how library staff might play a role in the successful implementation of self-service checkout. (Author/LRW)

This essay relates the economic cycle, unemployment, and inflation to reading habits and public library circulation. Highlights include recent English sociological study and its implications for current increases in public library use, future library use, effect of the economy on kind of public library use, and reasons why people read. (EJS)

Discusses the history of the public lending right in terms of the debate between authors and librarians, factors which have influenced growth of author compensation for library lending, and its development (or status) in Scandinavia, The Netherlands, West Germany, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. Thirty-five references are listed. (CHC)

Circulation for CD-ROMs rose from 56 per month in 1993 to 493 per month in 1996 at the City of York Public Library in Toronto, Canada. Discusses the need for technical expertise; quantity and quality of CD-ROMs; assessing the costs; product durability, damage, and losses; and legal issues under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Lists the…

Published in Danish with an English abstract and summary, this report amplifies the information on the use of public libraries included in previous leisure time research by describing a survey of more than 4,000 members of the Danish population. Users as well as non-users were interviewed, including children. The report is subdivided according to…

Develops stochastic model of library borrowing using Negative Binomial distribution applied to circulation data obtained from Huddersfield Public Library. Evidence concerning process of popularity decay is presented and method is given by which relegation tests can be constructed to maintain optimum turnover. Eight references and statistical…

Describes the public lending right (PLR) situations in New Zealand and Australia, the only two countries in the South Pacific region to adopt a system of remuneration for authors whose works are circulated by libraries, and discusses its adoption in each country. The 76 references listed include interviews and letters. (CHC)

To improve its service, the Offa (Nigeria) township library conducted a user study. The investigation found that 51% of users were students ages 19 and below and that 78% were males. Most users wanted extended hours, improved newspaper collections, more accurate shelving, and a consistent lending policy for all materials and users. (PEN)

Describes experiences of the Cranbrook Public Library (British Columbia) in implementation of an automated circulation system. Background of the library and need for the system, stages of development, use of community volunteers, retrospective conversion, functions of the menu-driven system, benefits from the system, software, and system costs are…

Discusses national differences, natural justice, and protection of tangible expressions in the copyright law and tactical and practical considerations regarding the legal aspects of author compensation for library lending. Special problems for public lending rights legislation (PLR) in the U.S. are cited. Eighteen references are provided. (CHC)

Describes a two-part book circulation use study conducted to find a simple inexpensive and effective method of weeding a public library branch collection, to determine whether weeding increases circulation, and to compare results with Slote's results. Seven tables, one appendix, and 32 references are provided. (RBF)