Commissioned by the Coalition for Networked Information, this report examines the role of research universities in addressing complex societal challenges. It focuses on climate change, which is best characterized as a "wicked" problem. Such problems are difficult to define and lack clear solutions in part because they involve multiple…

This issue of Research Library Issues looks at the critical role and participation of libraries and librarians in supporting the data science revolution. The articles contained in this issue are: (1) Data Literacy as a Pathway to Data Science at Georgia Tech (Catherine Murray-Rust, with Ameet Doshi, Jay Forrest, Ximin Mi, and Alison Valk); (2) New…

With the advent of the big data internet era, the corresponding multimedia technology is also developing. At the same time, as an important place for students to improve their cognitive level and expand their knowledge coverage, the construction of knowledge and information in university libraries will have an important impact on the growth of…

This research provides the first review of publicly available assessment information found on Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members' websites. After providing an overarching review of benchmarking assessment data, and of professionally recommended assessment models, this paper examines if libraries contextualized their assessment…

Big data sets and powerful computing capacity have transformed scholarly inquiry across many disciplines. While the impact of data-intensive research methodologies is perhaps most distinct in the natural and social sciences, the humanities have also benefited from these new analytical tools. While full-text data is necessary to study topics such…

The Mississippi State University Libraries' Virtual Reference Service collected statistics about virtual reference usage. Analysis of the data collected by an entry survey from chat and e-mail transactions provided librarians with concrete information about what patron groups were the highest and lowest users of virtual reference services. These…

As academic libraries are increasingly supported by a matrix of database functions, the use of data mining and visualization techniques offer significant potential for future collection development and service initiatives based on quantifiable data. While data collection techniques are still not standardized and results may be skewed because of…

What impact does the academic library have on student persistence? This study explores the relationship between traditional library input and output measures of staff, collections, use, and services with fall-to-fall retention and six-year graduation rates at Association of Research Libraries member libraries. When controlling for race/ethnicity…

This study applied an analytical technique called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to calculate the relative technical efficiency of 95 academic research libraries, all members of the Association of Research Libraries. DEA, with the proper model of library inputs and outputs, can reveal best practices in the peer groups, as well as the technical…

Based on statistical data submitted by almost 3,000 academic libraries as part of the 1978-1979 Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), this report develops a composite profile of an academic research library. Use of cluster analysis of library characteristics to find institutions that were quantitatively similar to one another…

Discusses and analyzes information on personnel, gate count, and hours of operation in ARL (Association of Research Libraries) academic science and technology libraries for 1992-93. Data are then compared to similar data taken from the survey of academic health-sciences libraries, and potential comparisons with other library surveys are briefly…

This paper is an extension of the author's earlier work on developing management information services and creating a culture of assessment in libraries. The author will focus observations on the use of data in decision-making in libraries, specifically on the role of leadership in making evidence-based decision a reality, and will review new…

Presents a model of the relation between the circulation at a large library, the collection at that library, and the size of the user population. Analysis of data at United States academic research libraries reveals a square-root law describing this relation. Explores theoretical foundations and speculates on bibliometric implications. (Author/AEF)

This kit on planning systems updates a 1974 Management Studies Office Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit in which developments in planning activities among Association of Research Libraries (ARL) were reviewed. At the time of the original study, in 1972, planning techniques and systems were a subject of much interest because rising…

A complex tool, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to evaluate the relative efficiency of major academic research libraries that are members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Results of a two-year base line study using traditional measures taken from 1995-96 ARL statistics are reported. (AEF)