In states with a large number of small school districts, such as Colorado (exemplified by the the case study examined in this paper), reorganization would seemingly result in significant economies of scale and equalization of the tax bases that support the schools. (Author)

The study focuses on the behavior of local school districts in allocating their budgets among teachers, other professional educators, support personnel, and nonpersonnel inputs. The results indicate that districts' allocative behavior at the margin is quite different from their average allocative behavior. (Author/EC)

Community networks are electronic information services that enable members of communities to inform one another about current issues. Discusses how community networks operate, what they do, budget constraints and innovation, problems and shortcomings, causes and solutions, and where libraries fit in. Highlights Charlotte's Web, a community network…

An analysis of price and scientific value of chemistry journals concluded that scientific value does not play a role in the pricing of scientific journals and that consequently little relationship exists between scientific value and the prices charged libraries for journals. Describes a software package, Serials Evaluator, being developed at…

Discusses the Hawaii State Public Library system decision to outsource library book selection to a vendor. Highlights include problems with the current contract, including lack of input from local librarians; and possible benefits of outsourcing, including the chance of having an outsourced baseline collection with discretionary funds for local…

In fashioning public school finance systems, states must balance competing values. Michigan's replacement of a general-aid formula and numerous categorical grant programs with a modified foundation formula constituted a substantial shift away from choice (local determination of spending level) and toward equality (smaller intradistrict spending…

Although weeding can save libraries money, shelving time, and increase circulation, it can create serious political problems for college librarians. Proposes a method of compiling lists of candidate titles for weeding based on a comparison of recommended titles lists contained in three editions (1967, 1975, 1988) of Books for College Libraries.…

Includes eight articles that address issues related to budgeting and finances in secondary school libraries. Topics include limited budgets; budget proposals; administering grants; writing grants; using Microsoft's Excel software for budgeting; using credit cards for library purchases; offering prizes for donating books; and offering coffee and…

An extension of earlier research into the growth of dentistry in the United States found that the profession maintained its economic strength relative to the economy, growing at a somewhat faster rate, that inflation was less, and that growth was not adversely affected by the recession of 1978-84. (Author/MSE)

If faculty and other groups are to play a significant role in the budget process, the administration should format the budget to invite discussion. A properly prepared budget can serve as an excellent means of consensus building on campus. A new technique known as "framework" budgeting is described. (MLW)

Regardless of how many times people are told by the Educational Testing Service not to use the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) as a gross measure of school productivity, the test continues to be used for that purpose. This article shows how misleading SAT scores and per-student-expenditure correlations are used to justify spending less money on…

Data are presented on dollar amounts spent by the 100 colleges, universities, and schools of professional education spending the most for research and development in 1993. For each institution, the amounts of federal funds expended and total funds expended are given as is the institution's R & D spending rank. (MSE)

Uses data from Japanese households to calculate the income elasticities of educational expenditure, allowing elasticities to vary nonmonotonically with household income. Explores whether income elasticities for education peak in the middle-income categories and diminish for the lower and upper ends of income distribution. Income elasticities do…

Presents a history of children's book publishing that focuses on past, current, and future trends and reviews how these trends affect library budgets and services. Highlights include an examination of elements that have affected children's book publishing and sales and a discussion of the creation of Children's Book Week, an effort to publish…

Estimates how much money it takes for technology programs to make a difference and offers advice on how schools can best spend their technology funds. Tables show costs in personnel and in hardware and software for developing technology expertise among teachers. (MLF)