The development of the Internet and the online collections accessed by it has created major adjustments in all library functions, including collection management and budgeting. The authors share how two public libraries have come full circle in electronic collection management, beginning with early selection, followed by current weeding programs…

It has become widely recognised across the academic and research libraries sector that special collections and archives play a key role in differentiating each institution from its peers. In recognition of this, Research Libraries UK (RLUK) established the workstrand "Unique and Distinctive Collections" (UDC) in support of its strategic…

The resource typologies proposed in the new standard, "Resource Description and Access" (RDA), are evaluated in the context of a particular university library catalogue through two card-sort exercises. Although it was found that end-users recognised the content and carrier aspects of the resource types as listed in RDA, they did not…

The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) enabled the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) to develop increased visibility among leaders shaping the development of the Internet. It also provided a mechanism for ARL member institutions and others to engage in partnership strategies to develop projects that would bring digital content and…

This paper briefly describes the structure of the national higher education association community, discusses the role of coalitions in collective advocacy, and reviews collaborations between the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) carried out during the tenure of ARL Executive Director Duane…

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has a long history of leadership as an important membership organization serving the research library community. A reading of its history highlights a substantial shift in its methods of community leadership in recent decades. Historically, like most membership organizations, ARL was largely focused on…

This inventory provides profiles, tables, and listings describing automated library activities at 103 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions. The inventory includes analyses of aggregate information from individual library profiles which are then divided into three categories that reflect primarily bibliographic functions: (1)…

This preliminary report describes a project designed to formulate a competency model for research library managers as suggested input for job descriptions, recruitment and interviewing techniques, training, and curriculum review in the graduate professional programs. The objectives of the project are to identify the requisite managerial…

This publication reporting the responses of 92 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members to an automation inventory survey conducted in March 1985 was generated from a database developed by ARL to provide timely, comparable information about the extent and nature of automation within the ARL library community. Among operational systems, the…

This is a general descriptive and comparative report on alternative forms of library catalogs. The specific problems and factors associated with library catalogs are introduced briefly and then treated with respect to the following physical forms: card catalogs, book catalogs, microforms, and on-line catalogs. Whenever possible, examples of…

A study of how patrons think and behave as they seek information at a major research library (Johns Hopkins University) reveals the need to provide the kinds of services and programs that meet the actual needs and preferences of patrons. Focusing on what librarians think is needed can result in poor service. (Author)

This article describes a case study that best illustrates the value of student workers in university libraries, focusing particularly on how this kind of creative endeavor benefits everyone involved--the library, the students, the faculty, and at the end of the project: the university community. (Contains 1 table.)

Treasures await students and researchers on the shelves of libraries and archives across the country, but unfortunately they often remain unknown to the "modern" researcher who limits his/her research to using the Internet. The process of physically going to the library stacks and browsing the shelves in a subject area is on the decline…

In this research project, the authors set out to discover the current practice in both the archival and cataloging worlds for usage of access points in descriptive records and to learn how archival descriptive practices fit into long-established library cataloging procedures and practices. A sample of archival finding aids and MARC records at 123…

To mark its founding in 1558 by Albrecht V., Duke of Bavaria, the Bavarian State Library (BSB) has issued a splendid catalogue (358 pages) with many sumptuous full-page coloured plates, taken from 113 works which were in the Library during its formative period 1558-1599). These works include manuscripts, church and secular music and early printed…