Reports on efforts in the 1970's by the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association, to develop new standards for public libraries. (Author/PF)

Surveyors and professional librarians should look to the methodologies of other fields, such as the social sciences, for more satisfactory techniques. (Author)

Presents a model for the development of statewide levels of adequacy for public libraries. Recent developments affecting the profession's thinking about standards are reviewed, various dimensions of the concept of standards are discussed, and issues that remain to be resolved are identified. (Author/JD)

This how-to-do-it guide for Oklahoma public libraries to use in evaluating their performance defines the individual performance measures, explains the data collection and analysis procedures, shows example calculations, and discusses the analysis and presentation of the performance measures. The performance measures are presented in terms of the…

This study of public libraries in Ohio explored whether voluntary state public library standards will be complied with to the same extent by smaller and larger libraries. Findings indicate that library size, as measured by population and income, is a factor in two categories of standards components: community input and library management. Contains…

In February, 1965 the boards of the Cleveland Public and Cuyahoga County Library Districts engaged the Regional Planning Commission to prepare a plan for the expansion or modification of their branch library systems. The general goal of the study was the design of a fully satisfying level of branch library service for the people of Cuyahoga…

The purpose of this plan is to provide a guide for designing improvements in public library service in the Denver metropolitan region and for evaluating the libraries as they develop. The report examines the background of public library planning activities, characteristics of the region, local library systems, area library resources and minimum…

The need for library services standards to reflect the growth in cooperation and interdependence among libraries and for accountability and their intended purpose, impact on directional changes, and on services improvement are discussed as well as the implications of their being based on scientific inquiry. Listed are 24 sources. (RBF)

Draws some initial connections between library performance measures and library space planning and collection management. Output measure surveys are suggested for establishing hierarchies of use and appropriate design of environments for housing the collection. Four references are listed. (MES)

Public library effectiveness efforts are placed within the context of theoretical and empirical research on organizational effectiveness. The construct, measures, and determinants of public library effectiveness are investigated, and a possible model of the determinants of public library output measures is presented. (Author/EM)

Examines the adaptation of a set of library performance measures derived from a UNESCO manual to Swedish libraries. The basic principles of the measurement process and general library objectives are identified, and the difficulties encountered during the study are explained. The Swedish results are compared to the ideal measures presented in the…

The purpose of this research was to look at the currency of the collection of a small public library and to determine the relationship between the amount of usage of the collection and the currency of publications in the collection. A 10% systematic sample was taken of the circulating nonfiction adult shelf list of the Franklin Public Library…

In order to find reliable methods of ascertaining quality in library service, three public libraries in the Chicago area were assessed using the Rutgers "Performance Measures for Public Libraries." The Rutgers study can reveal the needs and characteristics of library patrons, and may itself be instrumental in increasing patronage. It…

A survey was conducted to determine if California public libraries and systems serving 150,000 or greater populations met certain audiovisual standards established by the American Library Association (ALA). Fourteen public libraries and 11 systems responded to questions covering the criteria. Half the public libraries and the majority of systems…

This report of the findings of a year-long policy analysis of New York City's three public branch library systems, carried out by the Nova Institute in cooperation with a study committee composed of city and library officials, opens with a brief historic account of the development of the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, and…