The basic rationale for this study was that attempts to measure the service capabilities of public libraries, either in relation to the needs of their communities or to the standards adopted by the profession, are hampered by the lack of criteria of quality or effectiveness. It was recognized that new measures were needed to gauge effectiveness…

This study addresses itself to several questions important to most public libraries. How should the library allocate its book budget? What kinds of books should it tend to buy? What types of households use the library? Why do some households not use the library? What is the cost of the various services provided by the library? What specific steps…

This paper, based on lectures given during a tour of Czechoslovakia, outlines how the county of Hertfordshire, England has endeavoured to meet its obligations to education, industry, commerce and professional personnel in the dissemination of scientific and technical information. During the first ten years of development, the program has ensured…

A network of 13 Central Ohio libraries undertook a survey to determine: (1) which library services and resources are best provided on a regional basis; (2) which library services and resources are best delivered on a local basis; and (3) what plan for regional cooperation in service delivery is most effective. This summary report contains a…

After five years of existence, a three-county regional cooperative including public libraries, a community college library, and local government agencies was evaluated to assess: (1) general library services; (2) the interlibrary loan program; (3) library user satisfaction; and (4) the need for additional statistical reporting. Existing records…

To examine library usage by faculty and students in the Schools of Engineering at Purdue University, data was analyzed from a sample of 12,000 loans during a three month period. User level (graduate student, undergraduate, faculty, or staff) and subject of borrowed material as indicated by Dewey Decimal Classification were examined for each major…

A needs assessment of the library services of the Lake Agassiz region of North Dakota was begun in 1974. A mail survey of the area population and an in-library user survey were conducted. Almost all libraries in the region fell below state standards on holdings primarily because the population base was inadequate to support 11 municipal libraries.…

Sixty-six public libraries selected by random sample, substitutions and participation requests, tested Rutgers University 1970 Performance Measures Manual to gather information on the evaluation and improvement of public libraries. Selection was based on geographic location and budget categories. Following instructions for manual's use at…

The contraceptive utilization of a sample of sexually active, urban, high school males (Black, Hispanic, and White) was examined by anonymous questionnaire. Contraceptive use was haphazard, but White males tended to be more effective contraceptors than the other two groups. Reasons for nonuse were also studied. (Author/SJL)

Discusses a study of the relationship between contributions to scientific knowledge and the application of those contributions. Data collected from a U.S. Forest Service project indicate that the impact of research and development is greater when the knowledge-creation process is seen as a response to client needs rather than when researchers are…

Evaluation results are described for the DIALIB project, a three year experiment of on-line bibliographic search services in four public libraries. Findings include users of the system and their characteristics; use of data bases; librarian reactions; and time and cost of on-line searching, both in a free and fee-based environment. (Author/JPF)

An analysis of retrieved citations and user feedback shows that no single data base for agriculture is sufficiently comprehensive in coverage. In terms of maximum information yield and relative ease of effective profile construction, BIOSIS Previews and the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux file were the most productive data bases. (Author)

Presents data on the use of microfilm backfiles of 140 periodicals over a three-year period in a community college library, showing 25 percent of titles were unused in each year, with five titles accounting for over 50 percent and 30 titles for over 90 percent of use. Scholarly journals were rarely used. (RT)

Described is a study in which energy demands were analyzed and several plausable future energy scenarios were developed. The article attempts to illustrate the dynamics of energy demand and supply in the United States in order to aid future planning. (MDR)

Reports the results of a survey of 50 academic libraries that have Kurzweil Reading Machines and discusses librarians' responses to both factual and opinion questions about use of the machines. The questionnaire used in the survey is included. (Author/CLB)