Describes a study that used a nonobtrusive methodology to determine the effectiveness of an information desk staffed by graduate students and nonprofessionals in an academic library. Relationships that were found between the level of staff members and the quality of reference services are described, and the implications for staffing patterns and…

Labor shortages, cost increases, and turnover have prompted Fairfax County Schools, Virginia, food service managers to offer training programs and recruitment bonuses, to use more convenience foods, and to price out every service. (MLF)

Discusses the eight-step process Virginia Tech University Libraries followed for purchasing and loading catalog records for Major Microforms Sets. The process began with the creation of a committee, selecting microform record sets for cataloging, and concluded with a thorough in-depth analysis after tapes were loaded. Management and personnel…

The "academic ratchet and administrative lattice" framework for examining costs and productivity in college administration is applied to the University of Delaware. The productivity of academic units is analyzed quantitatively and issues in overstaffing and overbudgeting of administrative units are discussed. Faculty staffing trends from…

Planning to raise funds for a small-scale or specific college capital improvement project requires a different approach for background research, writing, and design of solicitation publications, use of volunteers, and visits to donors than does a larger project. A civic purchase-and-renovation project in Ohio illustrates the principles used. (MSE)

This time-motion study of eight internal medicine residents found that, when the physician was the patient's primary medical manager, physician-level skills were required 50 percent of the time, whereas use of an alternative model in which a midlevel practitioner performed day-to-day patient monitoring dropped the rate to 20 percent. (Author/DB)

Presnets the questionnaire used to survey college and university chief research officers in a July 1996 study, with response data summarized. The survey gathered information on the administrator's characteristics, research-funding levels and sources, costs, office functions (grant administration, research administration, ethical/legal oversight),…

A survey of interlibrary loan (ILL) staffing levels in Michigan academic libraries was conducted in 1994 to examine the relationship between ILL transaction volume and staffing patterns. Results show that departments with the largest volume needed additional staff; inadequate staffing levels caused blurring of job descriptions; and that ILL staff…

Web site usability concerns anyone with a Web site to maintain. Libraries, however, are often the biggest offenders in terms of usability. In our efforts to provide users with everything they need for research, we often overwhelm them with sites that are confusing in structure, difficult to navigate, and weighed down with jargon. Dowling College…

This report seeks to highlight the achievements of Centralia College during 1993-94 and present the college's objectives for the future. The report is organized by area, presenting highlights, objectives accomplished, and plans for the coming year. The report opens with statements of the college's mission, goals, values, and services, and a list…

Guidelines for teacher management procedures are presented in this resource book, which focuses on developing an information record system. Examples are drawn from countries with rapidly expanding education systems in Africa, particularly southern Africa. The book is an outcome of a series of four workshops organized by the Human Resource…

This Massachusetts Senate committee study examined the current policies and procedures used by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMA) to monitor, manage, and report on the activities of its faculty, in particular its faculty workload. The study had originally intended to analyze faculty workload in terms of instruction (teaching),…

Elements of effective planning in special education are considered, and a Hawaii project, Model T, is described. The project focuses on the process of making and evaluating resource decisions, such as decisions about the kind and frequency of related services staff time versus instructors' time. Microeconomic concepts such as diminishing returns…

A small new mental health center in a rural community of Ohio found collaboration a more feasible goal than consultation. Despite its limited staff and budget, the center was able--through cooperative efforts with agencies and individuals--to extend markedly its services to the community. (Author)

As the number of faculty who want to employ instructional development services grows, the resulting demand for personal help strains the resources and facilities of the learning resource center. In the interest of efficiency and productivity, instructional development should be pursued as a team effort of faculty within a discipline, focused on…