This is a collection of five articles which suggest current and future trends in academic library reference services. The first article poses a question, and the remaining four articles offer responses to it. (DGM/JMV)

Provides an introduction to sampling, determination of sample size, and selection of the actual sample that would be useful for librarians conducting research and evaluation studies. Highlights include sampling method, sampling error, confidence level, and microcomputer software packages that help determine sample size. (Contains 26 references.)…

Examines the reference transaction in library and information science from the perspective of systems analysis, identifies 15 functional requirements of the process, proposes criteria to measure success, illustrates the process using four diagrams of the reference transaction, and suggests future research. (Author/LRW)

The second of two parts, this article develops a taxonomy of value-in-use for library and information services based on user assessments and proposes methods and instruments for similar studies of library and information services in general. Divides value of services into three classes: reasons for use; quality of interaction; and worth, benefits…

This call for action addresses the high-level benefits of adopting a university-wide policy regarding research data management. It identifies the various university stakeholders and suggests that the library initiate a conversation among them in order to get buy-in for a proactive, rather than reactive, high-level policy for responsible data…

Measuring website success is critical not only to the web development process but also to demonstrate the value of library services to the institution. This article documents one library's approach to the measurement of website success. LibQUAL+[TM] results and strategic-planning documents indicated a need for a new type of measurement. The…

Some students at the master-level viewed research methodology courses negatively. This study investigated six factors that changed attitudes of graduate school students toward research during the course of a semester at a mid-sized university (University X) located in a western state. To facilitate this study, a survey instrument (Student Research…

The purpose of this study was to discover what libraries belonging to the Association of Research Libraries are subscribing to in support of multicultural and diversity research. A list of bibliographic and digital collections was created and searched for in the online public access catalogs of academic and research libraries in 2005 and 2008. A…

The concept of the embedded librarian takes subject specialization to another plane. The article that follows discusses the embedded librarian as an evolutionary product and speculates on the reasons driving the change from the library to the department or center for the delivery of information services. Four drivers for change are explored with…

Using college students to shelve library books in a university library has always presented a variety of problems. Attention spans are short; dedication to this repetitive task as well as socializing can be a problem for the average student. For the past 9 years, Oakland University's Kresge Library has employed a young man with autism to shelve…

Evaluation is important. As the sea of information grows ever larger, educators must be able to teach their students to evaluate what they find and decide its relevance and accuracy. In the American Association of School Librarians' publication "Standards for the 21st Century Learner," evaluation is a skill (1.1.4, 1.1.5), a disposition in action…

A library's Web site is well recognized as the gateway to the library for the vast majority of users. Choosing the most user-friendly Web architecture to reflect the many services libraries offer is a complex process, and librarians are still experimenting to find what works best for their users. As part of a redesign of the Oregon State…

The question "What is the role for research in library and information science?" lies at the heart of an ongoing project sponsored by the Office of Library Programs in the U.S. Department of Education. The project, which was begun in 1986-87, is designed to identify researchable issues that could help libraries attain or maintain a leadership…

This Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit contains a collection of representative documents on performance review procedures in academic and research libraries. The kit comprises: (1) performance appraisal forms from the Stanford University Libraries; (2) a rating scale evaluation form and an essay evaluation form for professional…

While there is general agreement regarding the educational and cultural advantages of exhibits, research and academic libraries often adapt the operating guidelines and procedures of exhibit planning and installation from museums and other non-library institutions. To discover procedures and policies developed specifically for research libraries…