Librarians rely on the Institute for Scientific Information's journal impact factor as a tool for selecting periodicals, primarily in scientific disciplines. A current trend is to use this data as a means for evaluating the performance of departments, institutions, and even researchers in academic institutions--a process that is now being tied to…

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…