For the last decade or more, circulation numbers of physical materials have declined in academic libraries across the United States. In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered society and daily life, not to mention library functions. In particular, fears of contagion via physical surfaces and transmission by contact led many…

Although cited reference studies are common in the library and information science literature, they are rarely performed in nonacademic institutions or in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences. In this paper, we analyze more than 400,000 cited references made by authors affiliated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration between…

In answering the question "What is the next trend in usage statistics in libraries?" an eclectic group of respondents has presented an assortment of possibilities, suggestions, complaints and, of course, questions of their own. Undoubtedly, usage statistics collection, interpretation, and application are areas of growth and increasing complexity…

Usage statistics are an important metric for making decisions on serials. Although the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Libraries have been collecting usage statistics, the statistics had not frequently been used to make decisions and had not been included in collection development policy. After undergoing a collection assessment, the…

Public libraries deliver many benefits to their patrons, but understanding these benefits in terms of dollars-and-cents is difficult. In an effort to quantify the return on investment to taxpayers for monies invested in public libraries, the Library Research Service (LRS) initiated the study, "Public Libraries -- A Wise Investment: A Return…

From a fledgling technology with no proven business models, electronic books (e-books) have grown in importance usurping traditional formats as an acquisitions budget line in many academic library contexts. Business models include purchase, subscription, and pay per use. In academic and research libraries, web based e-book delivery is the dominant…

This research report presents the results of a survey of public libraries that serve areas where populations are 25,000 or fewer individuals. The long range goal of the study was to gather data that would help to initially describe some of the circumstances in which and because of which rural information services exist and endure. Questionnaires…

This report presents statistics on how Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries spend money on electronic resources. This report indicates that 109 ARL libraries purchased 32,329,187 electronic books. In 2007-2008, there was a median of 28,319 acquisitions of electronic books by ARL libraries (this includes one institution that…

This report presents statistics on how Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries spend money on electronic resources. This report indicates that 108 ARL libraries purchased 25,006,758 electronic books. In 2006-2007, there was an ARL median of 243,725 acquisitions of electronic books (this includes one institution that purchased…

Western Illinois University Libraries has cut online serials subscriptions in the past 2 years. The librarians were guided by the statistics for downloads provided by the publishers of the journals. However, questions were raised by both professors and librarians regarding the exact meaning of the statistics. This caused the electronic resources…

This submission presents sixteen issues of Fast Facts from the Library Research Service covering topics regarding academic, public, school and special libraries in Colorado, the Mountain West and Southwest Regions. The following are Fast Facts titles from 2006 (1) Colorado Public Library Performance Rankings (2004 Data); (2) How Librarians Help…

A thorough understanding of the uses and applications of statistical techniques is integral in gaining support for library funding or new initiatives. This resource is designed to help practitioners develop and manipulate descriptive statistical information in evaluating library services, tracking and controlling limited resources, and analyzing…

A three part approach was taken in this situation report on the role of the special libraries in the United States. First, several background papers were prepared about the definition and state-of-the-art of the field of special librarianship. These papers are: (1) Shera, Jesse H., "Special Libraries--Why 'Special'?, (2) Ash, Lee,…

Nearly all academic libraries keep circulation statistics which are often shared with their parent university, library consortia, and national organizations. This study attempted to discover what goes into circulation statistics by surveying Southeastern research libraries. Libraries were asked what they count in their circulation statistics and…

In recent years an increasing number of publishers have adopted tiered pricing of journals. The design and implications of tiered-pricing models, however, are poorly understood. Tiered pricing can be modeled using several variables. A survey of current tiered-pricing models documents the range of key variables used. A sensitivity analysis…