Discusses leadership theory as it relates to the library profession and the importance of factors to identify individuals who are likely to be successful that can form the basis for recruitment strategies. Describes results of testing recruitment theory in academic and public libraries, and recommends further research. (Contains 50 references.)…

Description of common errors found in the statistical methodologies of research carried out by librarians, focuses on sampling and generalizability. The discussion covers the need to either adapt library research to the statistical abilities of librarians or to educate librarians in the proper use of statistics. (15 references) (CLB)

This discussion of the potential relationship between the accreditation process and organizational change in academic libraries includes the presentation of models of planned change and self-study. A study designed to determine which factors in the models relate to successful accreditation-related self-study processes is described and the results…

Describes the relationship between Carnegie Mellon University libraries and Sirsi Corporation, their integrated library-management system vendor. Topics include Carnegie Mellon's expertise in library automation research and development; and three primary elements of the alliance: research, including user protocols, surveys, and focus groups;…

Describes measures of cost effectiveness that are useful for academic library collections, based on experiences at the Louisiana State University libraries. Highlights include circulation analysis of newly cataloged books; current periodical use compared to cost; faculty ranking of journals; and circulation patterns (i.e., use versus cost and…

It is important that librarians research and plan to make the relationship between library collections and remote access comfortable and successful for users and the library. This article discusses the political, social, and economic advantages and disadvantages of remote access. (JMV)

Discusses the concepts of accountability and quality assessment in higher education. Topics include performance indicators in academic libraries, including international standards; factors affecting the reliability and validity of data, including consistency, ease versus utility, and values; and recommendations for research libraries. (LRW)

Describes the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) advisory committees in terms of research, public, college and university, and special libraries. All four of the type-of-library advisory groups work to shape OCLC policies and programs, according to the particular needs of each group. OCLC's financial and programmatic success depends upon…

Defines electronic text centers as tools for digital collection development in the humanities and describes experiences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in developing an electronic text center. Considers staffing, standards for encoding and describing electronic texts, hardware and software selection, and partnerships with the University of…

Library users' perceptions of the quality of interlibrary loan service are examined. Ten Greater Midwest Research Libraries Consortium members distributed surveys to patrons. Findings indicate patrons' satisfaction is minimally related to actual delivery speed; satisfaction and perceptions of timeliness are strongly correlated; a delivery speed of…

Considers the challenge of leading a research library that is between directors. Discusses issues involved in the transitional period of "acting" directorship. Outlines recommendations for acting directors: seek advice; negotiate well in the beginning; consider the staff; state an objective; build consensus; and consider cautiously the candidacy…

Explores the distinguishing characteristics of the liberal arts college and their meanings for the library director. Telephone interviews with nine liberal arts college library directors who had significant previous experience in a research university library focused on their expectations, what they liked/disliked most about the position, and what…

Discusses electronic resources and collection development. Topics include how electronic resources are changing the world of access to information; how and why scholars and research libraries use electronic resources; digitization initiatives; knowledge and learning via the Web; archiving electronic resources; and building collections versus…

Describes an initiative of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Scholars Portal Initiative, a three-year collaborative effort which seeks to provide tools for an academic community to have a single point of access on the Web to find high-quality information resources and to deliver the information and related services directly to the…

Discusses collection development in research libraries and presents a model for organizing collection management that combines functional and team-based design principles. Traditional and new organization designs of university libraries are described, and collection development and management is defined in terms of reference and technical…