Describes how colleges are exploring new Web-based strategies for successful roommate pairings. (EV)

Shares with readers the responses of several teachers and teacher educators whom were asked to comment on some of the books that have been important to their work. Draws upon these comments to offer reading suggestions. Notes that expanding teachers' interests and attention offers the best hope of making books matter in a complex teaching world.…

This SPEC Kit, published six times per year, examines how Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries have structured themselves to identify networked information resources in the market, to evaluate them for purchase, to make purchasing decisions, to publicize them, and to assess their continued utility. In the summer of 1999, the survey…

In the winter of 1999, the Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB's) Educational Technology Cooperative analyzed technology equipment standards and guidelines from state departments of education and higher education agencies in the SREB states. This report, which is based on a summary of these guidelines and standards, reflects the Educational…

Describes a strategy for selecting a delivery method for electronic resources based on experiences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Considers local conditions, pricing, feature options, hardware costs, and network availability and presents a model for evaluating the decision based on dollar requirements and local issues. (Author/LRW)

Internet information resources are proliferating at an astonishing rate, however, very little of that information is of high quality. Educators are in need of instruments to assist in evaluating information quality, which is the goal of a project underway at The University of Georgia. This paper is a progress report on the project to develop such…

This collection development policy serves as a guide for the selection and retention of depository government documents by the Government Publications Unit of the Kennedy Memorial Library of Eastern Washington University (EWU) in Cheney, Washington. The library selects approximately 65 percent of the depository items distributed by the U.S.…

Shows how a well-respected collection development tool contains ideological frames, using the "Public Library Catalog" (PLC) as an example. Evaluation by library science graduate students indicate that the PLC makes recommendations that have an imbalance of perspectives, overemphasize a particular facet or theory within a field, lack authority,…

Applies content analysis to compare assessments of 153 titles in U.S. history, each reviewed in "Choice,""American Historical Review," and "Journal of American History" between 1988 and 1995. A numerical rating system is used to quantify reviewers' overall opinions and their use of specific evaluative criteria. (Author/LRW)

Librarians at Harvard University have written the most comprehensive guide to selecting research collections for digitization. This article applies the Harvard Model to a digitization project at Indiana University in order to evaluate the appropriateness of the model for use at another institution and to adapt the model to local needs. (Contains 7…

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…

Describes the creation and testing of an online prototype, end-user database selection tool developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Discusses identifying computer-assisted techniques for guiding users to the most suitable databases for their information needs; improving user services; and improving ease of access to…

Today, as the needs of libraries change and librarians face shrinking budgets, selecting the best periodicals from over 147,000 possibilities becomes ever more difficult. This guide simplifies the task by offering the guidance of 150 experts who have screened and evaluated the universe of periodicals to produce this annotated list of approximately…

Designed to assist smaller libraries in selecting suitable reference materials for their collections, this annual review source identifies and describes 538 of the most useful and affordable reference sources available. The reviews cover reference titles published in 1998. Detailed annotations describe the nature, scope, and usability of each…

Over the past 20 years, academic collection development specialists have dealt with changes, brought about by decreasing purchasing power and the growing importance of electronic resources. Throughout, collection managers have rethought their efforts and revised criteria for selection of materials in new formats while maintaining traditional…