Discusses several economic concepts and principles important for librarianship--opportunity cost, resources, assets, and investment--and notes the difficulty of placing a monetary value on patron benefits. The law of diminishing marginal returns is applied to the relationships between library services and collection size, and between investment in…

Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of limited outsourcing in libraries, focusing on the purchase of electronic bibliographic records. Argues that any outsourcing strategy based primarily on saving money is likely to result in lower quality collections and services and lower user satisfaction. (PEN)

Presents the third annual annotated bibliography of new reference tools published or received in 1990-91 that were nominated by librarians as their favorites. Twenty-five items are reviewed for types of questions that could be answered by the source, comments from patrons and staff, and the librarian's opinion as to quality. (LRW)

To improve its service, the Offa (Nigeria) township library conducted a user study. The investigation found that 51% of users were students ages 19 and below and that 78% were males. Most users wanted extended hours, improved newspaper collections, more accurate shelving, and a consistent lending policy for all materials and users. (PEN)

Compares 48 features of four versions of the ERIC database, two commercial (SilverPlatter, FirstSearch) and two free (AskERIC.org, SeachERIC.org), to determine whether features of the commercial versions were worth the cost to academic libraries. Reports results of a survey that investigated user preferences, and concludes that value added…

Describes the library instruction program at the University of California Santa Barbara, which uses a team-teaching method to cope with reduced staff and increased enrollment, collection, and teaching responsibilities. The benefits include a sense of departmental teamwork, improved student library literacy, and faculty and student goodwill. (EAM)

Discusses how libraries can prepare for today's users in light of increasing technology demands on collections and on users' expectations. Topics include reading habits and literacy; collection diversity; financial support; technology versus more traditional services; marketing strategies, including outreach programs; and considering users as…

Since their founding, public libraries have debated their role in providing access to popular culture. This paper describes the historical development of public libraries as popular materials centers, and traces the development of library standards, particularly the seminal publication, "Planning and Role Setting for Public Libraries: A…

A study of the collection of college catalogs at a medium-sized university library found that they are used by many types of clients in addition to undergraduates; users need a current, comprehensive collection and are not bothered by a lack of shelf order; use is enough to justify the collection. (Author/EM)

Examines arguments in favor of membership in the Center for Research Libraries in light of changing collections and services, the cooperative collection development environment, and the needs of research libraries. The discussion covers classic arguments for participation and methods for assessing the value of four membership benefits. (76 notes…

This report describes a study designed to evaluate and compare the provision of National Technical Information Service (NTIS) documents to users of the McKinney Engineering Library at the University of Texas through Selected Research in Microfiche (SRIM), a standing-order, collection-building service, with the provision of documents through…

Microfiche equipment and software were supplied to targeted junior and senior high school media centers and use of the total magazine collection was measured. Data on the third year of the project indicate the microfiche collection led to an 18 percent rise in number of successfully filled requests for magazines. (CDD)

Describes the role of computer record keeping in collection management and development of centralized film libraries serving school districts and demonstrates the ability of computers to gather and manipulate collection data that enable film managers to replace, expand, and duplicate materials according to user needs. (CDD)

This narrative description summarizes the planning and implementation of a periodical use survey conducted during fall 1985 and spring 1986 to determine who uses the Fitchburg State College Library periodical holdings and which periodicals are used. Relevant literature is discussed, the purpose of the survey is explained, and survey procedures are…

Users (n=148) of an audio book library were surveyed to collect data for formulating a policy on development of the library's collection. The survey found a broad range of reading interests among users and differences in preferred genres of fiction between men and women. Policy changes made based on survey results are discussed. (Author/PB)