The identifiable age grouping of the optimum circulation interval for journal usage is five years. Heaviest journal usage occurs during the first five years after its publication date; and beginning with the sixth year, use becomes so infrequent that requirements for return of the journal within two days creates unnecessary hardship on the user.…

This study represents a market analysis of the needs, habits and desires of business firms concerning their acquisition and utilization of the information required in their work in order to improve public library services to business and industry through cooperative library action. The key recommendations were: the public library should be the…

The subjective reactions of two researchers are presented to provide comment on selected aspects of public library surveys which may have similar components to those which the authors found in Portage County, Ohio in 1969 and 1970. (See "Public Library Services in Portage County; An Analysis for Planning." ED 039 907) Aspects covered…

The purpose of this study was to survey and analyze two census tracts of Salt Lake City proper, a residential area frequently referred to as Central City. This study was commissioned by Richard J. Rademacher, Director, Salt Lake City Public Library. A questionnaire was formulated through an analysis of other surveys at the conclusion of an…

Four hundred and fifty-three patrons responded to a 1976 library use survey conducted at California State College at Dominguez Hills to assess present effectiveness and identify areas of concern for use in planning. The study found that some library patrons use the local public libraries because they are more convenient, while others use larger…

Community analysis has been a prescribed tool of public librarianship for over 25 years. Although its value has been recognized in published public library standards, librarians have rarely used this method of improving library services. Emphasis is placed upon the need for the development of a community analysis methodology for librarians. It is…

In 1973, the Technological Institute Library, along with the other science libraries of Northwestern University, began a study of reference use. For each reference request received in the libraries, the date, time, duration, mode, class of question, and user type were noted. These statistics were tabulated and analyzed by computer. It was…

The study was undertaken to examine the functions and organization of the British Museum Library, the National Central Library, the National Lending Library for Science and Technology, and the Science Museum Library in providing national library facilities; to consider whether in the interests of efficiency and economy such facilities should be…

A user survey was conducted at the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library and Study Center of New York University to collect specific data for resource planning after two and a half years of operation. A questionnaire given to a sample of students and faculty in each school provided data on library usage (how much and for what purpose), user satisfaction with…

This March 1973 survey assessed library use by non-affiliated users by type of library in the six county library council region. Among the items on the questionnaire distributed to over 100 public, academic, school, and special libraries were: (1) the purpose of the library visit and the subject matter of interest, (2) satisfaction with services…

In order to provide meaningful unit cost information, the librarian needs an accurate concept of what data should be measured and why. The dimension which has been conspicuously absent in library statistics is interpretation of the data which is reported, and the correlation of one set of data with another to reach a defensible conclusion. For the…

The purposes of the study which this report describes were to assist the San Francisco Public Library in further documenting the need for a new main library building, to consider financial alternatives, to recommend a site, and to develop a program of facility requirements for the future. Although not an organizational study, it has considered the…

Library surveys are a means to an objective examination of the library and its services, helping to clarify the purposes that are being served and to assess the methods of providing these services. This survey was undertaken as a cooperative project of the seven public libraries of Summit County, Ohio. Its purpose was to develop a long-range plan…

A comparison is made between adult services offered by public library branches located in school buildings and the services offered by independently housed branches. No recommendations are made but the report presents a summary of replies received to questionnaires sent to 70 public library systems that have branches in schools, and to 84 main…

The major objective of this research study was to gather information about factors which influence collection development and selection decision making in the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. The user's judgement of the extent to which the collections met his needs is the only parameter of assessment. Museum curators, the bulk of whose time is…