Examination of several library legislation models developed to meet the needs of developed and developing nations reveals that our traditional notion of the library's role in society must be abandoned if we wish to reconcile its benefits to its costs. Four models currently exist: many nations, particularly Asian, have no legislation; most nations,…

Systems analysis can and should be used in any situation where there is a need to measure performance and a reasonable possibility of being able to develop more efficient routines. Increasingly, systems analysis is being used by librarians in other areas of library activity, such as budgeting and management. (29 references) (Author)

A study of computer facilities in British libraries highlighted the respective benefits and disadvantages of using the parent institution's central computer or using a dedicated minicomputer. The large computer's technical advantages include greater opportunities for sharing or buying operational software, and the availability of experienced…

The purpose of this book is to identify and describe the most important factors that must be considered in making decisions about the optimal ways to provide access to information: the best ways to use the humans, machines, and intangible resources known as information, especially at the organizational level. It provides a framework for…

ARL is the bimonthly report on research library issues and actions from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). ARL reports on current issues of interest to academic and research library administrators, staff, and users; higher education…