Examines the importance of understanding how and why academic libraries are changing, analyzes the limitations and difficulties of traditional library performance measures, and explores environmental factors that may help account for why library use is changing. Discusses how user behavior and preferences affect demand for and use of library…

Discusses intangible and tangible benefits of scheduling technical services staff to assist at the reference desk: improved library service resulting from technical-services staff expertise, greater flexibility for reference desk staffing, enhanced bibliographic records for titles in the reference collection resulting in improved retrieval, and a…

Investigates how the needs of adult new readers are being met in five North Texas public library systems using the PLA's (Public Library Association) list of recommended titles for "Adult New Readers" for 1993-97 as the comparative sample. All the libraries had titles from the sample, though there was considerable variance. Only one…

Describes the development of the Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) by the Library of Congress and partner libraries that provides professional reference service to users through an international digital network of libraries. Discusses the benefits of searching library collections rather than just Internet sources and considers future…

The survey data on Colorado's academic libraries is organized by sector (i.e., public or private) and board (e.g., University of Colorado, State Board of Agriculture, Colorado Community College and Occupational Education System). There are library-by-library statistics and summary figures for boards and sectors. Full-time equivalent (FTE) student…

This document is a guide to library resources in the I. D. Weeks Library at the University of South Dakota, Vermillion. The guide was designed to accompany an academic library instruction course, "Use of Library Resources, A & S 111." The purpose of the course is to familiarize students with the facilities of the I. D. Weeks Library;…

This document contains the results of a 1994 survey on the use of user surveys by ARL (Association of Research Libraries) members. Of the responding libraries, 68% had conducted user surveys in the last 5 years. A number of these libraries (20%) reported conducting surveys at regular intervals ranging from every year to every five years. The…

To gather data on library use by students at South Seattle Community College (SSCC), questionnaires were distributed to individuals in the library and, through instructors, to students in classrooms. Responses were received from 549 members of the campus community, 62% of whom were vocational students and 22% of whom were liberal arts students.…

A local model for support of periodic academic program reviews by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) has developed and evolved at the Ball State University library. The process of devising a format to systematically report library holdings statistics to support program reviews and other collections development duties began in 1975;…

This overview of New York State's school library systems begins with a New York State map which shows the geographical location of each of the 46 school library systems. The remainder of the pamphlet provides the following: a brief background on school library systems in the state; a "typical" school library system profile; the types of…

Each year, from 1982 to 1986, the Library Research Center at the University of Illinois conducted a study called the Index of Quality of Public Library Service. For this study, unobtrusive tests of reference service and book availability were performed annually in Illinois Public Libraries. When the results from rural libraries were compared with…

The papers presented focus on the library acquisition, processing, and use of alternative publications, which include small press and other materials produced by non-standard, non-establishment groups or individuals. In "Libraries and Alternatives: An Essay," Patricia Glass Schuman discusses the importance of alternative publications and…

Historical antecedents as well as contemporary social and cultural factors have impeded the Black student's quest for excellence in education. As a result, the historically Black colleges have, since their inception, existed to provide a quality education to those who have been excluded from the educational mainstream. Now that the focus of…

A Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) survey conducted in 1986 investigated the collection and use of management statistics in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries, and SPEC Kit #134 (May 1987) summarized the kinds of statistics collected and the reasons given by the 91 respondents for collecting them. This more…

This issue is designed to provide delegates and other participants in the New York State Governor's Conference in 1990 and the White House Conference on Library and Information Services in July 1991 with an overview of the current status and future needs of libraries and librarianship in the state. Following a message from Mario Cuomo, Governor of…