To investigate the experience of American and Canadian university libraries with remote access catalogs, self-administered questionnaires were sent to the 137 directors of all Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries and all libraries of Canadian degree-granting institutions. The study was designed to: (1) survey Canadian and U.S.…

Describes the use of questionnaires and interviews for a study on the use of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Library (Nigeria) by international students. Problems faced by students are highlighted, including the language barrier, new services, and unfamiliar library terminology. (Author/LRW)

The 1996 National Household Education Survey (NHES:96), an ongoing national survey on important educational issues, included a series of questions about the use of public library services by members of United States households. Responses represent public library use by members of each household surveyed and not by individual persons within…

This user survey was part of a three-part diagnostic study that sought to obtain information on how public libraries operate in Latin America (Argentina, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Venezuela) and the Caribbean (Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, and Surinam) and the social role performed by this type of service in the region.…

Provides statistics based on the 1996 National Households Education Survey (NHES) of 55,000 families, measuring library use by presence of children, race, and ethnicity. Provides tables reporting use of public libraries by presence of children, by any household member, and by any household member in the last month. (PEN)

Discussion of methods for gathering journal use information in academic libraries (for retention decisions) highlights an 8.4-year time-series of weekly library journal pickup data. Use of the autocorrelation function, spectral analysis, and intervention analysis is described.(LRW)

Describes results of a study of interlibrary loan statistics that was conducted at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) Library (Saudi Arabia) in 1985-86. Results are used to examine collection development needs, departmental use, categories of users, time required to fill requests, and lending vendors. (five references) (LRW)

Faced with growing problems in the management and direction of its periodical collection, in 1973 the McLaughlin Library at the University of Guelph established a Periodical Use Committee responsible for collecting and analyzing statistics on the use of periodicals within the library. Specific responsibilities of the committee included deciding…

Public library effectiveness efforts are placed within the context of theoretical and empirical research on organizational effectiveness. The construct, measures, and determinants of public library effectiveness are investigated, and a possible model of the determinants of public library output measures is presented. (Author/EM)

Describes results of a survey of secondary school libraries in Israel that was conducted in 1983-84. Library characteristics related to type of community and type of school are described, including size of collection, hours of operation, and librarians' qualifications. School library use is also discussed. (six references) (LRW)

This investigation at California State University, Chico seeks to identify those variables that prove indicative of the demand for monographs by subject. Analyzes interrelationships among circulation, expenditure, and enrollment by subject and develops a model for allocating subject funding based on circulation statistics. (Author/LRW)

The University of California San Diego (UCSD) Libraries User Survey was designed to have its results in machine-readable form. Library management, anticipating the need for detailed statistics for future decision making, required that the survey results be manipulatable by library managers. Responses to the 1996 use survey were solicited from…

Compares directors' use of Public Library Data Service statistics and Federal-State Cooperative System for Public Library Data statistics to show how directors make use of statistics and to highlight the statistical information that directors find particularly useful. The survey addressed: last time of use; ways of use; frequency of use of…

Examines the adaptation of a set of library performance measures derived from a UNESCO manual to Swedish libraries. The basic principles of the measurement process and general library objectives are identified, and the difficulties encountered during the study are explained. The Swedish results are compared to the ideal measures presented in the…

This study was conducted to determine how library users in California say library use helps them. While most library effectiveness studies infer effectiveness by looking at the movement of materials or reports of user satisfaction, this study proceeds from the assumption that libraries need to know how library use helps in user terms. The study…