The authors generated data visualizations to compare sections of the library book collection, expenditures in those areas, student enrollment in majors and minors, and number of courses. The visualizations resulting from the entered data provide an excellent starting point for conversations about possible imbalances in the collection and point to…

This study analyzed the relationships between variables of institutional expenses, library expenses, and library use and variables representing graduation and retention rates for colleges and universities. Using data drawn from the Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System and the Academic Library Survey, institutions were compared by their…

THE COSTS OF TECHNICAL PROCESSING WITHIN A COOPERATIVE LIBRARY CENTER SERVING A NUMBER OF MEMBER LIBRARIES WERE COMPARED WITH COMBINED COSTS OF OTHER NONMEMBER INSTITUTIONS. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE COST PER MEMBER LIBRARY IN A CENTRALIZED SYSTEM FOR A GIVEN QUALITY OF TECHNICAL PROCESSING WOULD BE LESS THAN THE COST OF SIMILAR TECHNICAL…

A cost study was undertaken of the costs incurred by, or allocable to, the Interlibrary Lending (ILL) section of the UCLA Pacific Southwest Regional Medical Library Service (PSRMLS) from June 1, 1976 through May 31, 1977 for filled and unfilled book and journal requests. Mathematical methods were used to establish accurate values of total direct…

Questions related to the expansion of online bibliographic searching at the University of Wisconsin-Stout are examined. A brief review of the literature on why libraries search online is followed by a discussion of the specific situation at Stout where the ERIC data base is the only online service currently used. The variety of online data bases…

Increasing demands for more information more quickly has called into serious question the traditionally fragmented nature of library service by creating a need for greater interlibrary cooperation. Libraries have responded to this need by the formation of networks which are nothing more nor less than a formalized tool for interlibrary cooperation.…

Describes a study that used survey questionnaire and case study methodologies to compare proportional relationships among services to children, teenagers, and adults in California public libraries during fiscal years 1977-78 and 1982-83. It is concluded that the findings both support and refute the belief that youth services received limited…

The Texas Public Library Summary for 1999 contains summaries of the information submitted by Texas public libraries in the 1999 Annual Report/System Membership Application Form (ARSMA) and reported in detail in the Texas Public Library Statistics for 1999. The Summary provides an overview of Texas public library income, expenditures, services, and…

Discussion of public library standards focuses on an examination of four quantitative standards: hours of service, library resources, library staff, and library operating budgets, to determine if any agreement exists about them among states. Results indicate that there is no consensus regarding public library standards or approaches to public…

Focuses on library economic metrics, and presents a conceptual framework for library economic metrics including service input and output, performance, usage, effectiveness, outcomes, impact, and cost and benefit comparisons. Gives examples of these measures for comparison of library electronic and print collections and collection services.…

Analyses of the relationship between costs and output in more than 3,000 United States academic libraries show that average costs rise more rapidly than output for all types of libraries except two-year private colleges. Major differences in workload and expenditures were found between two-year and four-year public and private institutions. (EJS)

This report presents a summary of Alaska public library statistics for FY (Fiscal Year) 1998 in the following areas: circulation and interlibrary loan; collections; income; expenditures; expenditures on collections; staff and volunteers; and hours, attendance, reference, and programs. The tables and graphs in Part 1 compare this data with…

Discusses the economics and value of information and describes a study that compared an objective measure, the estimated direct costs to a library to purchase materials or provide services used by specific users, with a subjective measure, exchange values those users would pay for the information. (LRW)

Primary focus in this 1977 annual report of the Houston Public Library system is the library's nine-month program, "City...Our Urban Past, Present and Future," which was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Aspects of the first four months of the program that are described include its lecture series,…

Seven small college libraries in the state of Utah were surveyed to determine collection size, fiscal status, orientation of clientele and services, organization and staffing, cooperative activities, and automation and planning. The survey used statistical data collected by the National Center for Educational Statistics and questionnaires sent to…