Reports on a study in the public libraries of Champaign and Urbana, Illinois, to determine whether public library circulation of a sample of books will be greater for those volumes displayed in a prime location than for those in their regular places on the shelves. (FM)

Investigates the relationships between reference performance (dependent) variables and various quantifiable reference service characteristics (independent variables such as reference collection size). Statistical analysis indicated that reference performance was significantly related to the size of the reference collection, and to other…

This study of public library employees' perceptions of library goals based on one case study reveals that staff hold generally conservative views of public library purpose and prefer goals that are print-based and directly related to reading. Most significant influences on perceptions are local practice and practical considerations. (24…

Describes a study that investigated holdings of small publishers' books in OCLC libraries and selection procedures for these titles, including the influence of reviews, publishers, and vendors. Questionnaire responses from librarians and vendors are analyzed, and results indicating a significant relationship between holdings and reviews are…

Describes the 1927 American Library Association's job classification and compensation plan, which attempted to identify job duties and minimum qualifications for the entire library profession. The development of the plan, problems with the research methodology used, and the relevance of the plan to current problems in librarianship are discussed.…

Research conducted at Fisher Library, University of Sydney, which measured user failure to locate known items in catalog or on shelves, yielded overall failure rate of 35.9 percent (26.2 percent at catalog; 46.1 percent at shelf). User errors caused two-thirds of failures at catalog and more than half at shelf. Fifteen references are provided.…

Data collected from 318 libraries across the United States are used to (1) identify, describe, and compare the extent and variety of current library services for older adults with those in 1971, and (2) measure variables in organizational support and suggest how they might influence service provision. (Author/CLB)

Twenty-one libraries in Library Computer System participated in collection overlap study. Findings of random sample representing 1% of each collection indicate that high percentage of titles, 69.4%, occurred only once in network and that percentage of each library's collection unique to that library, ranged from 6.1% to 68.4%. (21 references) (EJS)

An index designed to measure the extent of a subject's involvement in twenty-seven library-related job tasks is reported, together with data obtained in a survey of 4,000 professional and nonprofessional library employees in 2,100 health sciences libraries. (4 references) (Author/NH)

This study, which focused on the extent to which Lake Forest College (Illinois) students were aware of library reference services, used interviews and a revised version of a survey used elsewhere. Findings showed student awareness to be relatively high, and that the methodology would work well in other undergraduate settings. (Author/EM)

Directors of academic, public, and special libraries were asked to relate curricula of master's degree programs in library and information science to their own perceived needs and preferences in hiring of junior professionals. Options for alternatives to education outside one-year degree setting were examined and ranked. Seventeen references are…

Tests hierarchical regression model--library employee's salary is a function of library size, public sector collective bargaining strength, library's ability to pay, cost of living in area, presence of any union and union representing librarians in library--on three salary levels (department head, beginning librarian, clerical worker). (29…

Segmented labor market theory is used to explain how the structure of the library labor market may determine salary differences by type of library. Evidence that segmentation exists at intraoccupational levels and the possibility that comparing entire occupations may obscure results are also reported. (Author/CLB)

A method for measuring diversity of opinion in public library collections was developed and tested in selected Online Computer Library Center libraries. It concentrated on locating an objective index of measurement, identifying the diverse materials available, and selecting key variables that relate to diversity. Four controversial subjects were…

Reports on a study of the diffusion of the Public Library Association's planning process. Two surveys are described: one of state library development agencies that determined techniques used to disseminate planning information; and one of small public libraries that determined the extent to which they had received and were using the planning…