Discusses electronic books and derives a comprehensive definition. Lists various types of e-books, their characteristics, pros and cons, and compares e-books reader hardware and software with their specifications and characteristics. Considers the publishing industry, impact on libraries, and digital rights management. (Author/LRW)

Traces the historical background of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) 1986 standard for serials holdings statements, which encompasses both summary levels and detailed, issue-specific holdings levels. An earlier 1980 standard is compared with the new one and questions that may arise in applying the new standard are considered.…

A study of requests for photocopies of journal articles through interlibrary loan at Colgate University over a period of one month suggests that, if a borrowing library wants quick service with a high fill rate and little imposition upon the lender, location verification is more important that citation verification. (MES)

Compares benefits and costs for three methods of resolving library storage problems: weeding, high-density "warehouse" storage, and conversion to microform. (SW)

This study examined library Web sites of historically black colleges and universities to determine whether they disseminated information and provided services to users. Compared black college library Web sites with other library sites and found that most black library sites only provide basic information about the library and its collections.…

Nine tables compare prices, indexing coverage, and library popularity of periodical titles for 1977 to 1979. Titles are chosen from indexing services' authority groups and are listed by subject. Based on number of library subscriptions from indexing services, a "weighted price" serves as a budget guideline. (SW)

Random samples of monographic materials from U.S. and Canadian public libraries were matched with collections from similar libraries of different sizes. Strong positive correlation appears between percentage find rate and target library size, with regression analysis suggesting linearity over a wide range of collection sizes. (Author)

Identifies six trends in collection development in fine arts library, noting selection tools and methods. Results of a study of cost and coverage statistics for fine arts titles treated on approval plans by Richard Abel Company and Blackwell North America between 1971/72 and 1981/82 are presented. Thirteen references are listed. (EJS)

The Intellectual Freedom Committee of the Association for Indiana Media Educators surveyed 2,650 schools regarding materials which have been questioned or challenged in school library media programs. The 1995-86 results are compared to results from the 1994 survey. (DGM)

Discusses the theory behind the system of the compact disc (encoding process, decoding system), its potential for growth, and its possible impact on the way libraries handle sound recordings. Guidelines for purchase of compact disc equipment are given. A comparison of compact discs and long-playing records is appended. (37 references) (EJS)

In information retrieval (IR), the aim of genetic algorithms (GA) is to help a system to find, in a huge documents collection, a good reply to a query expressed by the user. Analysis of phenomena seen during the implementation of a GA for IR has led to a new crossover operation, which is introduced and compared to other learning methods.…

Reports the results of a study which examined the need for and use of both academic and professional materials in library collections for professional education. The measures used included proportions of materials in an existing business collection, and comparisons of patron use and obsolescence rates of academic and professional materials. (CLB)

A comparison of subject- and publisher-based book approval plans for academic libraries found publisher-based plans to be more successful for purchasing domestic publications, and subject-based plans for international ones. Library collections, organization, and vagaries of the publishing industry form the basis for selecting the plan which is…

This description of the automated acquisitions system used by Knox College Library provides a history of its development and compares the system to the OCLC Acquisitions Subsystem. The system's chief management tool--a dealer report and several permutations (sorts by publisher and fund)--is discussed. Six references are cited. (EJS)

Analyzes the impact of AACR2 on the card catalog in a medium-sized library using a random sample from a year's cataloging. Rates of conflict, amount of corrections, and creations of split files under different conditions are considered. Data are presented in four tables and a reference list is attached. (Author/JL)