Just what is meant by a "Best Practice"? A best practice is a procedure, a process, or a system, adopted by best performing districts, which has a noticeable long-term positive impact on the strategic objectives of the Procurement organization. The concept of "best practices" is a fluid one. As technology, regulations and…

It is generally agreed that price discrimination can, in some circumstances at least, be an extraordinarily unpopular business practice. In late 2000, customers discovered that Amazon.com was varying its prices online for the exact same products. Although the incident is almost fifteen years old, it has become the standard reference in law review…

Materials in this collection were submitted by respondents to a survey which sought specific data on the numbers and types of approval plans in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries, whether such plans are meeting expectations, their relative importance in the library, who makes the key decisions, and the kind of thought and study that…

A consortia of Rhode Island academic libraries used several research methods--checklists, vendor matrix, vendor demonstrations, dial-up access, on-site visits, and telephone conversations with representatives--to evaluate integrated library systems for purchase. With the help of private funding, INNOPAC was purchased and implemented. (EA)

The second in a series on educational computing for teachers and administrators, this booklet offers a checklist for use in making decisions about program development, 11 case studies illustrating how teachers in Washington state have initiated programs, and a collection of articles on various aspects of educational computing programs. The…

Presents a sampling of questions from a districtwide survey that was designed to determine elementary and secondary school librarians' prior knowledge about and use of computers and software; what software and hardware was available at each school and how it was used; training needs; and the interpretation of policies on purchasing. (LRW)

A study was conducted to develop a curriculum to meet the information processing/management training needs of persons entering or continuing careers in the information marketing area. The process used for the study was based on Stufflebeam's Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) model of evaluation. The information gathering process included a…