Describes the process for outsourcing photocopying including developing a clear request for proposal, monitoring and responding to vendor performance, and ensuring quality controls in academic libraries. (Author/PEN)

Explains activity-based costing (ABC), discusses the benefits of ABC to library managers, and describes the steps involved in implementing ABC in an Australian academic library. Discusses the budgeting process in universities, and considers benefits to the library. (Author/LRW)

Argues that the full cost and complexity of providing library services to support open and distance education tend to be underestimated. Three fundamental questions are addressed: Why is it necessary to determine the role of libraries in supporting learning? Who meets these costs? and How institutionally independent should access to library and…

Examines interlibrary loan (ILL) charges for photocopied material at two academic libraries, the University of Arizona and the University of Nevada, Reno. Statistics were reported for separate academic units to determine which were the most active users and which were charged the most, and recommendations are made for dealing with ILL charges.…

Discusses issues relating to costs of library and information services in the academic library in transition, reviews the functional cost analysis method, and presents selected data gathered from a larger study on the costs and value of various library services. Applications to a digital information environment are also discussed. (Author/LRW)

Describes a study at Pennsylvania State University Harrisburg in which cost-benefit analysis (CBA) was used to examine the cost effectiveness of an electronic database. Concludes that librarians can use the results of CBA studies to justify budgets and acquisitions and to provide insight into the true costs of providing library services. (PEN)

Discussion of access versus ownership for libraries facing rising serials cost. Focuses on a study at Pennsylvania State University that tested the feasibility of using commercial document delivery (CDD) as compensation for discontinued ownership, as a complement to ownership, and as a supplement to ownership. Positive results for CDD were found.…

The rationale for using Activity-Based Costing (ABC) in a library is to allocate indirect costs to products and services based on the factors that most influence them. This paper discusses the benefits of ABC to library managers and explains the steps involved in implementing ABC in the user services area of an Australian academic library.…

Asserts that, although many arguments in favor of user fees for library services are based on economics, little economic benefit is actually gained by levying charges for some services. A microeconomics model that has been used to demonstrate the benefits of user fees is critiqued, and the issue of accountability is discussed. (23 references) (CLB)

Discusses the need for research libraries to develop a greater sense of financial accountability, both from a moral standpoint and to provide better services. Topics covered include areas where cost benefit tradeoffs have been neglected, possible consequences of not becoming accountable, and the debate over user fees. (12 references) (CLB)

Discusses ways in which academic libraries are responding to rising costs of serials. Topics addressed include pricing by publishers; the effect of journal cancellations on research activities; interlibrary loans and document delivery services; coordinated cancelling; electronic journals; and experiences at the University of Arizona. (LRW)

University libraries, and specifically the University of South Florida (USF) Library, are used for many different purposes that go beyond traditional library services. Activities users engage in while in the library should factor into decisions regarding the allocation of library space or expenditure of resources. The results of this survey…

This report is the unofficial, pre-publication summary of Louisiana 1994 IPEDS (Integrated Post-secondary Education Data System) academic library statistics forms. The primary impetus for this publication is to provide Louisiana academic library directors a timely and more user-friendly presentation of IPEDS statistics. Libraries are grouped…

The operation of the university library is examined. Despite the increase in size of libraries, their standard of service is declining. Reasons for this decline are advanced. The strategic goals of the library are redefined with implications for the library's acquisition, shelving, and retention policies. (Author)