Facing shifting organizational cultures, technological innovations, and the growth of digital information, administrators must consider how best to utilize the resources and staff devoted to cataloging special collections. A survey of special collections cataloging among Association of Research Libraries member institutions showed variation in…

The Management Review and Analysis Program (MRAP) provides resources and guidelines for a research library to use in conducting an internal assessment of management practices. The MRAP self-study project has two components: a procedural methodology for conducting the analysis, and a conceptual framework provided to assist in evaluation. The study…

Discusses the difficulties inherent in de-selecting (or weeding) a library collection. Examines the issue of making sound judgments regarding what should be weeded and how. Suggests alternatives to discarding books, such as remote storage, selling them back to patrons, and sharing within a consortium. (NB)

ARL is the bimonthly report on research library issues and actions from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). ARL reports on current issues of interest to academic and research library administrators, staff, and users; higher education…