This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit reports results of a survey attempting to characterize "branch libraries" and "discrete collections" housed in main academic libraries. The results provide a snapshot of current definitions, subject areas, services, and administration of these collections, as well as…

The program planning phase to improve service programs includes the recommendations that the Trustees of the James Jerome Hill Reference Library: (1) commit the physical facilities and administrative organization to serve as headquarters for the cooperative program of academic libraries, specifically the Cooperating Libraries in Consortium, Inc.…

A task force was appointed to insure that New York State's health information service programs were operating optimally. The task force was charged to review: (1) the effectiveness of the guidelines and assessment form as published in the "Manual for Assessing the Quality of Health Sciences Libraries in Hospitals"; (2) the present…

Noting that the primary function of electronic mail within research libraries has changed from interlibrary loan to administrative purposes in the last four years, this kit begins with an overview of the results of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) surveys of the use of electronic mail (e-mail) in member libraries conducted in 1984 and 1988.…

In "How Special Libraries Use Networks," a paper presented at the 1982 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference, David R. Bender (United States) advocates cooperation among academic, public, school, and special libraries in the areas of information management, staff services, and acquisition of technology. He…

The 3-year retrospective catalog conversion project described involved the conversion of 446,913 selected monographic records of six major New York State research libraries into machine readable format. The records were searched against the OCLC, Inc., data file. If a match or an identical record was found, the corresponding OCLC record was…

Over the past 10 years, many changes have affected the roles of librarians and other professionals in research libraries. The changes have been caused, in part, by technological advances, reorganizations, more focus on libraries as learning organizations, the use of teams and team-based approaches to tasks, and a recognition of diversity's…

A survey was conducted in those academic and research libraries that are involved in the OhioLINK project to determine their use of approval plans and their budgetary patterns. Written questionnaires were used to collect data in order to examine approval plan use, approval plan and firm order budgeting, and vendor use. Analyses of the responses…

The kit on electronic mail (EM) contains results of a January 1984 Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) survey on current and planned uses of EM within the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Questionnaires were distributed to all 117 member institutions. Of the 69% who responded (81), 43% (35) indicated that they now use EM in their…

To gather more information on the role of the liaison in research libraries, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Office of Management Services conducted a survey in 1992 of its academic library members. Completed surveys were returned by 49 libraries. Liaisons in both technical and public services were reported by 59 percent, while 31…

This kit presents the results of a survey conducted by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in 1974 to investigate and document various experiences of academic and research libraries in reclassifying portions of collections or entire collections and the relationship between libraries' particular classification schemes on effective…

Three articles on preservation present a theoretical framework for making preservation selection decisions by Atkinson, comments on Atkinson's concepts and possible mechanisms for identifying collections for top priority in microfilming by Child, and results of a Research Libraries Group study of the costs of preservation microfilming by McClung .…

In November 1984, surveys were mailed to the 215 interlibrary loan coordinators of OHIONET institutions asking them to participate in a study of interlibrary loan (ILL) photocopying practices and procedures. Questionnaires were returned by 152 coordinators for a response rate of 71%. The study focused on the use of various tools in the selection…

Results of a 1978 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) survey indicated that 68 (89%) of responding libraries utilized an automated cataloging system. Of those 68, 53 participated in the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC), five in BALLOTS, and the rest in other networks or local systems. At the beginning of this collection, a concise summary…

This report on existing library reference and research resources in the North Country area, the needs of area users, and possibilities for cooperation and development of library resources in one of the studies conducted in terms of the proposed Reference and Research Library Resources (3-R) library network in New York State. The survey was carried…