Examination of appropriateness of productivity measurements to assess performance of special libraries defines the concept, discusses problems in their use, and gives guidelines for implementation. Results of use of productivity measurements in Library of Congress and State Department library are reported, and productivity measurements are…

Library performance criteria used by managers in 62 academic, special, and public libraries are analyzed to measure the extent to which criteria proposed in the literature are actually used, to identify types of criteria in use, and to develop guidelines for future criterion selection. (Author)

Surveys the service marketing literature for models and data-gathering instruments measuring service quality, particularly the instruments SERVQUAL and SERVPERF, and assesses their applicability to special libraries and information centers. Topics include service characteristics and definitions of service; performance-minus-expectations and…

Describes the experiences of the University of Southern California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Biomedical Library in testing MEDLINE on CD-ROM. Preparations for testing are discussed, as well as patron response to the system, measured by evaluation forms, and implications for libraries providing new technological tools for patrons. (MES)

Describes compact disk technology in general and possible library applications, including cataloging, online bibliographic searching, and full text searching, and compares the purchase of optical disk packages to traditional online services. Guidelines are provided for evaluating optical disks which focus on the size of the database, updating…