Establishes a managerial context for the expenditure of funds for research and development by academic libraries. Topics discussed include for-profit research and development; sustaining a competitive advantage; traditional library funding strategies; organization environment; and library strategies for facing an uncertain funding environment.…

Based on coexistence frequency of pairs of words or phrases, coword analysis is used to discover linkages among subjects in a research field and thus to trace the development of science. This article reviews the development of coword analysis, summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of this method, and discusses several research issues.…

Professional associations in the library/information science field are viewed from the perspective of the value they bring to the field. Research and professional development are reviewed in this context based on the efforts of ALA (American Library Association), ALISE (Association for Library & Information Science Education), ASIS (American…

Discusses (1) the history of document delivery; (2) the delivery process--end-user request, intermediary request, vendor reference, citation verification, obtaining document and source relations, quality control, transferring document to client, customer service and status, invoicing and billing, research and development, and copyright; and (3)…

Discusses a demonstration project conducted by the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science to transfer reading development technology developed by the military to adult literacy education. The development and testing of a computer-assisted instruction program for language skills in two library sites and plans for expanded testing…

Surveys resource sharing among libraries in the cycle of scholarly communication. Highlights include emergence of digital technologies; coherence within disciplines; collection development and innovative solutions; digital works for world knowledge; National Periodicals Center; subscription cancellations; electronic documents; new research areas;…

Reviews recent and current research and development projects in the United Kingdom dealing with online information systems. Main areas of research (systems design, impact on user behavior and organizational structure, ergonomics and bibliographic factors) and research techniques (features analysis, transaction log analysis, surveys and comparative…

Describes the design and operation of a prototype online catalog; reviews research which evaluated the system in terms of types of searches and success rates; and offers suggestions for enhancing subject access, including automatic stemming, synonym tables and cross-reference lists, and relevance feedback mechanisms. (CLB)

Discusses a variety of library applications of optical disc storage technology, including CD-ROM, digital videodisc, and WORM. Research and development projects at the Library of Congress, National Library of Medicine, and National Agricultural Library are described, products offered by library networks are reviewed, and activities in academic and…