The efficiency and effectiveness of a domestic blanket approval plan is compared with traditional acquisitions procedures based upon a unit cost study carried out at four libraries in the state university system of Florida. Comparative costs are measured. (2 references) (Author/NH)

A mathematical model is used to justify having the Library of Congress do as much as possible of all the original cataloging for U.S. libraries. It is suggested that the potential savings due to decreased duplication of effort by local libraries could easily justify the use of a computer system at LC. (Author/JB)

Discusses a study which examined the disposition, one year after input, of a sample of original cataloging contributed to the OCLC database by the Indiana University at Bloomington Libraries. (Author/FM)

Discusses a library at the University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg) containing both classroom aids demonstrating the physical and creative development of books and a permanent, working collection of materials accessible to librarians, publishers, writers, and illustrators involved with children's literature. (JM)

This paper examines the extent to which U.S. Association of Research Libraries (ARL) are providing services to their distance education library patrons, it reveals whether each U.S. ARL library has a designated librarian in charge of services to distance education students, and it presents the perceived challenges faced by distance education…

Beginning in 1995, the University Libraries of Virginia Tech embarked on a major shelf-load reduction/storage project. Every effort was made to communicate the scope of the project to the teaching/research faculty of the university. This article presents an overview of the project, with emphasis on ways in which sensible criteria, advance…

In this column on digital repository management, the author defines three areas within the sphere of digital repositories that need work. The first two pertain to information architecture, while the last one pertains to taking action. The author's first "wish" is for top-notch library Web sites that act as a gateway to any sphere of knowledge. He…

After entering as a "bit player" among feudal lords, she became an honored, celebrated campus leader. Building and repositioning the library, Susan Nutter brought it from what one senior professor called "an embarrassment" to its current role and site, a central force and place in the academic enterprise at North Carolina State…

The National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematical Education Digital Library (NSDL), inaugurated in December 2002, is developed to promote science education on a comprehensive scale. The Journal of Chemical, Education (JCE) Digital Library, incorporated into NSDL, contains its own collections of digital resources for chemistry…

Research library catalogs serve as authoritative sources of access. The increasing practice of including Web sites in the catalog, resources not under the library's control, raises new issues of the catalog's accuracy and reliability. An analysis of ARL libraries' catalogs examined the persistence of cataloged URLs. Error rates ranged from a low…

In recent years an increasing number of publishers have adopted tiered pricing of journals. The design and implications of tiered-pricing models, however, are poorly understood. Tiered pricing can be modeled using several variables. A survey of current tiered-pricing models documents the range of key variables used. A sensitivity analysis…

Five papers examine the adoption of resource based learning at Charles Sturt University (Australia). "Literature Searches and Distance Education: Whose Problem?" (Stephen Parnell) discusses the question of who should accept responsibility for the intellectual content of literature searches; the library is at the center of a resource…

Recent explosion of online teaching has brought unique challenges for libraries as they strive to provide access to necessary resources and services for distance learners. These challenges are increased by the desire to provide the same level of library services to distance learners as to their on-campus counterparts. In response, many libraries…

This publication brings together for the first time in a single volume the status of public library standards in the United States. Based on a master's thesis submitted to the Department of Library Science at The Catholic University of America by Mrs. Marian Magg, the study has been brought up to date and also expanded. This bulletin provides not…

The author examines the evolution of the current Australian demographic and its implications for the delivery of public library services. The "baby boomers", the generation born between 1946 and 1961, are the next cohort to be seriously in need of housebound services, and the characteristics and likely needs of this group are considered…