The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has a long history of data collection, environmental scanning, and trends analysis. Its most recent work, "Futures Thinking for Academic Librarians," uses a 15-year horizon to look beyond the worries of the current economic cycle and the short-term future in order to anticipate the changing…

Storing and curating authentic academic literature and making it accessible for the long term has been a time-honoured task of national libraries. By guarding existing knowledge and facilitating its use to produce new insights, national and university libraries have formed an integral part of the research environment, complementing the roles of…

This study examines the holdings of ARL libraries for core reference titles to see if there is a trend towards canceling the print in favor of electronic, and discusses the implications of duplication of titles in both formats. It also looks at the issue within the context of several areas of study including general reference, arts and humanities,…

Advances in information technology are forcing librarians and administrators to reinvent scholarly information exchange. The old question of what constitutes a research collection remains, but is transferred to a new medium. This is an opportunity to take advantage of the new possibilities and to correct some previous mistakes in collection…

In 2002, the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), Higher Education Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee commissioned the National Library of Australia to analyse the uniqueness and overlap of Australian university library collections, comparing library collections in each state, using the National Bibliographic Database…

For most research libraries, remote storage of significant portions of their print collections has become an economic necessity. Historically, user objections to remote storage have focused on access-related issues: i.e., lack of browsability, cumbersome requesting procedures, lengthy retrieval times, and lack of content information about…

In 1992 the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) surveyed administrators in member libraries regarding resource strategies of the previous three years. This paper summarizes revenue activities, adaptive tactics, and budgetary practices reported by 87 Canadian, U.S. private, and U.S. public university libraries and establishes a baseline for…

A study was conducted to examine library data and trends among a group of 42 liberal arts colleges known as the "Bowdoin List." Questionnaires were completed and returned by 35 of the colleges, and interviews were conducted with the library directors at 22 of the colleges. The first of 10 sections in this report presents the statistical…

This research extends the "Purdue studies" of research library growth, presenting results that include library statistical trends during a 35-year period, 1951-1985. It serves to update Purdue's 9-report series (1965-1973) and is a validation study of Purdue's growth forecasts, 28 of which were published in 1965, then revised in 1971.…

Congress established the Strengthening Research Library Resources Program through Title II-C of the 1976 Education Amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965 to promote research and education throughout the United States by financially assisting major research libraries. Since 1978, nearly $70 million in grants have been distributed to U.S.…

Reports on the book-buying trends and predilections of libraries at two-year colleges, four-year colleges, universities, and large research institutions. Four tables and figures show findings for purchasing power of academic libraries; areas academic librarians believe need more titles; most-bought book categories; and sources used to make…

Based on responses of 53 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries to a 1986 Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) survey, this kit examines the changes in the organization and staffing of the collection development function in ARL libraries over the past 3 to 4 years. A concise summary discusses survey results, which…

This survey was conducted to discover how extensively ARL (Association of Research Libraries) libraries are involved in formal, active programs of collaboration for collections management. Seventy ARL libraries completed a questionnaire focusing on all collections formats and a number of related collections management activities. Results indicated…

The analyses reported here on the growth and change of medical school libraries are based on the annual statistics of 67 U.S. and Canadian medical school libraries, 1975-89, and 4 primary statistics from "parent," main campus libraries, all of them members of the Association of Research Libraries. The results show that medical school…

Examines trends in academic research libraries and their role in the management of scholarly communication. Part 1 traces research library development from the early 20th century to the 1990s, with a focus on collections, expenditures, and acquisitions. Part 2 discusses the impact of technology and electronic information resources on the…