This article discusses a project undertaken to assess the journals in a Big Deal package by applying a weighted value algorithm measuring quality, utility, and value of individual titles. Carried out by a national library consortium in Canada, the project confirmed the value of the Big Deal package while providing a quantitative approach for…

Public libraries must operate in a time of increasing change, both within the library community and throughout the larger social and economic environments in which the library must function. This book is a guide to the strategic management of change in community libraries. It addresses the unique circumstances and needs of public libraries and…

Examines a new approach to measuring service quality--conducted at Yale University's libraries--one that produces findings useful for local planning and decision making. The goal is to probe the service attributes of greatest potential to both actual customers and service providers. The setting for this study was Yale University. (AEF)

The purpose of this study was to determine norms against which the characteristics of community library services could be tested. The five oldest community libraries in the Pinetown (South Africa) public library system were examined. Results showed that certain public library systems, like Pinetown, have made significant progress toward becoming…

Duke University science librarians took a one-day retreat to examine operations, define goals, and explore options for achieving goals. Cost/impact analysis and decision matrix models were used to analyze each librarian's activities. The cost/impact model enabled the librarians to prioritize functions and to better deploy limited resources to…

For libraries to succeed, a clear understanding of what services are in demand is necessary. The SWOT analysis technique for evaluating an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is examined, and barriers to effective diagnosis are discussed. (AEF)

Describes library reorganization at the University of Arizona resulting from fiscal challenges and the need for current technology. Highlights include: the restructuring process and customer focus; team functioning and the learning organization, including training issues, communication, empowerment, and evaluation/assessment; current challenges,…

This book brings together the literature on information skills instruction with particular reference to models related to information seeking and the information search process, including representational, instructional/teaching, and facilitation models. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the development of the library curriculum as it has evolved…

Describes the management and collection of standardized educational and psychological tests at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and analyzes the use patterns of patron request cards. Current electronic test locators and evaluation services are indicated as well. (Author/LRW)

Describes the method used by Firelands College (Ohio) to evaluate its book, periodical, and government document collections. The study investigated whether 30 percent of the references cited in students' texts could be found in the campus library and whether 70 percent could be found there or in the main campus library. (DMM)

Describes the challenges of evaluating information faced by school library media specialists. Discusses the basic process of evaluation. Describes components of the evaluation process and several factors inherent in evaluation contexts. Presents recommendations for practice based on the summarized research. (AEF)

The Ward Edwards Library of Central Missouri State University attempts to collect the materials necessary to support classroom needs and faculty research. This assessment gauges how well the library print collection supports the Department of Communication, in which undergraduate majors and postgraduate degrees are offered in a total of 85…

Discusses library collection evaluation and its relationship to the acquisitions budget. Topics addressed include the publishing industry; library services that are more user centered; acquisition of versus access to sources of information and knowledge; the concept of value; library accountability; objectives and setting priorities; and levels of…

Describes an inexpensive method for analyzing the cost-effectiveness of a liberal arts college's journal collection, based on measurements of journal use, journal subscription prices, and course enrollment by academic department. Explains data collection methods and presents results of collection analysis. Discusses the benefits of empirical…

The effectiveness of the following methods for identifying college students' serials needs for collection development purposes is compared: reshelving/ILL; bibliography; and survey. Bibliographies of student projects or student surveys provided the most comprehensive evaluation. Four diagrams depict data. (AEF)