Data from a research project on the value and impact of public library book reading have provided insights into the role of the public library in the reading experience. The principle of equity of access was seen as crucial, in that it provided everyone with the opportunity to encounter reading material. Respondents also compared the buying and…

Some university academic departments contend that they do not receive a fair share of approval-plan books. The study attempts to measure the proportion of books for each departmental subject in general publishing and to compare those ratios to their proportion in approval plan receipts. It also sought to determine whether, and to what extent, book…

Reports on output measures that can give children's librarians additional information to better control collections and make better selection and weeding decisions. Statistical comparisons utilizing circulation data (comparing circulation year to year, circulation to patrons served, circulation to number of materials owned) and availability of…

Seven articles on library reference services highlight reference obsolescence in academic libraries, major studies of unobtrusive reference tests, methods for evaluating reference desk performance, reference interview evaluation, problems of reference desk control, online searching by end users, and reference collection development in…

This self-study of the Ezra Lehman Library at Shippensburg State College presents the analyses and recommendations of two library task forces--one on organization, communication, goals and objectives, and one on user relations. The responsibility of the first group was to develop implementable recommendations for necessary or desirable changes in…

This study provides evidence of the positive impact of library media centers (LMCs) on academic achievement in 221 Colorado public schools during the 1988-89 school year. The importance of the library media specialist's instructional role is also verified. In contrast to previous research on the relationship, this study uses schools rather than…

Reviews the history, literature, and methodology of collection evaluation or assessment in American research libraries; discusses current problems, tools, and methodology of evaluation; and describes an ongoing collection evaluation program at the Stanford University Libraries. (Author/MBR)

In the United States there are 15 to 20 independent research libraries designed to provide the corpus of records necessary to intellectual inquiry in one or more disciplines, in dimensions as complete as possible, and with the optimum provision of scholarly apparatus and physical convenience. The rare nature of much of the collections of these…

To improve bibliographic access to the individual works contained in "Landmarks of Science" and "Landmarks II," two comprehensive microform collections of materials related to the history of science, the staff of the University of Utah Libraries cataloged the individual titles. Staff members with backgrounds in Renaissance…

Examines the roles and structures of several European national lending systems to find useful models for guiding future developments at home and abroad. Highlights include the current scene, growth of union catalogs, patterns of collection use, new bases for measuring performance, and charting a future course. (18 references) (EJS)

This set of materials assembled by the Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) contains seven examples of general use surveys and eight examples of user surveys on specific topics from a group of major research libraries. Among the items included are (1) a final report on a library user survey…

Two primary data sources were used to create a database of 68 research libraries for this study: (1) Alexander Astin's report for the National Academy of Sciences on the reputational ranks of the top 20 graduate programs at U.S. universities (1985); and (2) a list of 70 "Research Universities I" identified by the Carnegie Foundation for…

This 16-article issue focuses on history, policy, services, users, organization, evaluation, and automation of the archival reference process. Collections at academic research libraries, a technical university, Board of Education, business archives, a bank, labor and urban archives, a manuscript repository, religious archives, and regional history…

Based on information in Department of Education files and further comments from former project directors, this historical review of projects funded from fiscal years 1978 to 1981 under Title II-C of the Higher Education Act (HEA II-C) of 1965, as amended in 1976, looks at projects in collection development, preservation and conservation of major…