Sociology resources housed in the campus library potentially offer valuable support for a department's instructional efforts. Provided is a strategy for (1) evaluating an existing library collection; (2) correcting extant deficiencies; and (3) maintaining the balance and quality of the collection on an ongoing basis. (Author/RM)

Discusses the development of an electronic reserves software system and related administrative issues at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Topics include staffing; technical and work flow issues; education and training of users, faculty, and staff; assessment; and advice for other libraries building electronic reserve programs.…

This essay proposes the use of assessment centers, designed to simulate real-life situations and identify managerial skills, as a possible solution to dilemmas of current administrative personnel selection practices in academic libraries. Background, setting up the assessment center, obtaining assessment expertise, and legal implications are…

This report documents the procedures and problems encountered during the evaluation of Western Illinois University's library by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and proposes recommendations for future evaluations of university libraries. Basic problems with the NCATE evaluation involved: (1) an unqualified…

Types of performance evaluation for academic librarians are discussed, noting strengths and weaknesses--formats, relative ranking system, dimensionalized ranking system, management by objectives, and degree of participation. Use of appraisal program to aid library administration in monitoring ongoing activity, planning ahead, and motivating…

Academic library managers need a multimethod, objective, valid tool for measuring service quality. Examines three research studies in the measurement of service quality in Australian and New Zealand academic libraries: the Hernon and Altman Study; Hernon and Calvert Study; and the University of Waikato (Hamilton, New Zealand) Survey, a two-stage…

Discussion of thinking styles in library tasks focuses on a study at Brigham Young University that explored the relationship between thinking styles and library organization. Use of the Squires Thinking Styles Test is described, results that indicate professional librarians tend to be verbally oriented are discussed, and future prospects are…

Results of a 4-month library self-evaluation program conducted by staff members at Carnegie-Mellon University Libraries are reported in this document. The study was conducted using the Academic Library Development Program (ALDP), a self-improvement strategy for libraries to evaluate and develop their performance. The study team consisting of four…

Considers the cost of employing student temporary workers in academic libraries and suggests they be replaced with fewer full-time staff. Topics include the trend toward contingent, or temporary, employment; management problems; core employees; cost effectiveness of student employment, including poor productivity and training needs; and evaluating…

Discussion of management of cataloging backlogs in academic libraries focuses on a backlog assessment project conducted at the Ohio State University libraries to facilitate the elimination of two backlogs, one of Slavic language materials and one of general materials. Evaluations of samples from these two collections are discussed in terms of…

Academic libraries are turning increasingly to internship/residency programs to enhance recruitment efforts. Outlines necessary components of an evaluation model for internship/residency programs based on a survey of academic library deans/directors and program coordinators. Identifies key evaluation factors that library administrators consider…

In the field of total quality management (TQM), the term "customer" has been redefined to include all stakeholders, people who have an interest in the organization and its activities, from traditional customers to employees and society as a whole. The stakeholders of an academic library include: students, academic staff, university and…

This SPEC Kit and Flyer focus on performance evaluation of library directors. The survey, included in the SPEC Kit, was sent to all 121 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) directors; 76 directors (63%) responded. The survey asked about factual attributes of director review processes, including frequency of review cycles, participants, and…

An evaluation of cooperative collection management among academic libraries participating in the Illinois Collection Analysis Matrix (ICAM) was conducted in March 1987 by the Illinois Association of College and Research Libraries (IACRL) and the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE). Data were gathered from two questionnaires, one of which was…

A pilot study conducted to identify concerns of public services middle managers on costing and use of performance measures found the librarians interviewed had little faith in their usefulness. Implications of these findings are discussed and specific ways to increase the usefulness of such measures for library decision-making are suggested. (CDD)