Investigates the capability of three library automated systems to generate some of the datasets necessary to form the ISO (International Standards Organization) standard on performance measurement within libraries, based on research in Liverpool John Moores University (United Kingdom). Concludes that the systems are weak in generating the…

The four papers contained in this volume were presented at the August 1994 meetings of the American Statistical Association as a session titled, "Public Policy and Data Comparability: New Interest in Public Library Data." The first paper, "Public Library Statistics: Two Systems Compared" (Mary Jo Lynch), describes two systems…

Discusses the value of statistics in public library administration and recent efforts by the federal government and the Public Library Association (PLA) to gather public library statistics. PLA's Public Library Data Service (PLDS) Statistical Report '88 and planned online availability are described. An inset shows data on salaries for beginning…

This survey of regional depository libraries grew out of an informal meeting held in the fall of 1987. The meeting's purpose was to allow regional librarians to discuss their shared problems and concerns. A direct result of this meeting was a decision to gather more information about regionals and how they operated, organized and staffed their…

This SPEC Kit and Flyer focus on the extent to which Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries engage in formal or organized customer service programs. Seventy-five out of the 121 member libraries responded to the customer service program survey (61%). The SPEC Flyer discusses results in terms of customer service program characteristics,…

Discusses measurement and evaluation as ways to justify reference work to users and library administration. A trivia contest is cited as a way to achieve public recognition, and measuring use of reference materials rather than the number of reference questions is recommended. User surveys and other measures of reference activity and value are also…

This cumulative report serves to keep a record of University of Guam Learning Resources (LR) activities, identify milestones in LR's history, review LR's past progress, and on the basis of the review results, plan for the future. It contains five major sections: "List of LR Administrators"; "List of Important LR Activities";…

Reviews attempts by Library of Congress in the 1940s to resolve the cataloging crisis that preceded changes in cataloging rules in the 1950s and 1960s. Recommendations of an unpublished report on reorganization, simplified cataloging, cooperative cataloging, personnel policy, and cost analysis changes are examined, and results of implementation…

Discusses the increase in circulation over the past seven years at the Queens Borough Public Library. Improvements in collections, promotion, and services responsible for this increase are examined, and circulation data are presented in graphs. (MES)

A survey was conducted to investigate public library directors' use of the Federal-State Cooperative System for Public Library Data and the Public Library Data Service reports. This article highlights the uses directors made of statistics and the aspects of statistics that they found particularly useful. (Contains 51 references.) (Author/AEF)

Discusses action research and its implications for library media centers; measurement and study; and steps in the action research process: clarify research need and define research problem, plan research to provide relevant data, collect and organize, analyze and interpret, report to relevant audiences, and integrate the results into library media…

This document is the annual report of the Minnesota State Law Library. The report is divided into two main sections. In the first section, "Year in Review," accomplishments and statistical summaries are presented for the administration, outreach services, public services, and technical services departments. In addition, the following are…

Discusses areas needing revision in the manual "Output Measures for Public Libraries," i.e., measurement objectives, research skills of output measures users, management versus research contexts, relating inputs to outputs, problems in data collection, user versus library performance, sample sizes, interpretation of output measure…

This manual for librarians offers both background information and practical advice on library budgeting. Seven chapters make up this book: (1) Numbers, Your Library, and You; (2) Kinds of Budgets; (3) Measuring Ourselves; (4) Alternate Resources: Grants and Endowments; (5) More Alternate Resources: Volunteers, Fund Raising; (6) Fees for Library…

This annual report of Utah public library services presents data useful for local library planning. This information is presented in two sections: core performance measures and general tables. Statewide summary data and breakouts by the populations of the library jurisdictions are provided for the following core performance measures: (1) visits…