Libraries are all about collecting data. When it comes to collection development and assessment of e-resources, collecting data on usage of resources aids in decision making regarding these resources and provides data-rich evidence to support the value for the user of these resources. However, the author asserts that libraries should take some…

Discusses interlibrary lending (ILL) systems and explains the localization effect--called "the burgundy effect"--which results in a partial union catalog of serials locating a higher percentage of ILL requests than an up-to-date catalog over a number of years. An econometric model, the Weibull distribution, is used to calculate…

Libraries and information agencies depend heavily on statistics to describe their services, evaluate their activities, and measure their performance. In the data gathering on which statistical analysis depends, there are always assumptions and uncontrolled variables that interfere with the purity and objectivity of the data, and therefore…

Discussion of stress in library reference departments focuses on stress caused by CD-ROM reference tools. Topics discussed include work overload; nonreference duties; patron attitudes and behavior; staff attitudes; the need for proper staff training; and the need for library administrators to be sensitive to reference staff needs. (LRW)

Considers the future of microforms by surveying the history of their use in libraries; reviewing the literature about them; and comparing them with electronic databases, full text delivery, and laser disks. It is concluded that microforms will continue to be the primary providers of significant but rarely used retrospective materials. (EM)

Discussion of rush library processing (rapid provision of books that are urgently needed) highlights speed versus cost, previous studies, and a study conducted at Clemson University Library to determine rush book turnaround time. Seven guidelines applicable primarily to academic libraries are suggested as aids to improve rush processing. (9…

Describes the Freedom Forum International Library Network that has been established in Central and Eastern Europe since 1992 to provide journalists in formerly Communist countries with current, accurate information through print materials, online databases, and CD-ROMs. Plans for future expansion are also discussed. (LRW)

Discusses the increased costs of library materials, the need for a new budgeting approach, and the impact of technology. The development of a library materials index that was developed at Ohio State University to provide a consistent source for measuring library materials expenditures against the marketplace is described. (Contains 14 references.)…

This report includes papers dealing with various facets of the library's role in filling the lay health education need and the appropriate responses to that need as conceived by the conference participants; the total content reflects the input from medicine, nursing, social work, community medicine, law, voluntary health agencies and national…

Examines the problem of aging of books in university libraries and presents a mathematical model of the aging process. Indexes for the aging time limit, over-age book rate, and aging rate are suggested; use of the mean unit price is considered; and countermeasures for control of the aging process are proposed. (four references) (MES)

Discusses the nature and extent of discriminatory pricing by journal publishers, and reports on a survey of academic libraries that was conducted to assess the effectiveness of strategies used by libraries to mitigate the effects of high journal prices and price discrimination, i.e., higher prices for both institutions and foreign subscribers.…

Discusses the use of CD-ROM products in libraries and describes a full-text CD-ROM library, called the Compact Agricultural Library, that is being produced for developing nations. Topics discussed include CD-ROM and international development; making information more useable; full-text versus fielded information; editing and layout; hypertext; and…

Digital imaging technology, which is used to take a computer picture of documents at the page level, has significant potential as a tool for preserving deteriorating library materials. Multiple reproductions can be made without loss of quality; the end product is compact; reproductions can be made in paper, microfilm, or CD-ROM; and access over…

Provides an overview of traditional allocation methods for academic library materials budgets and describes a study conducted at the University of Tennessee Libraries that analyzed the MARC records of highly circulated titles to discover patterns of commonality that could be used in future selection work. (Contains 10 references.) (LRW)

The Yale University Library, one of the earliest developers of preservation microfilming practices, is today engaged in the first stages of a long-term and comprehensive effort to develop practical systems for the conversion of microfilm to digital image, and thereby to develop an understanding of the appropriate relationship of the two…