Describes problems facing academic libraries today concerning the amount of literature and information available, costs, copyright issues affecting ownership, and technological changes. Strategies for dealing with diminishing funds and increasing information resources are suggested, and activities at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)…

Discusses budgets for library materials and how to select and evaluate book and serial vendors. Trends in automation, publishing, and economics that affect both libraries and vendors are discussed; and examples from the University of California at Berkeley that include serials service charges and approval plan discounts are presented. (six…

Describes measures of cost effectiveness that are useful for academic library collections, based on experiences at the Louisiana State University libraries. Highlights include circulation analysis of newly cataloged books; current periodical use compared to cost; faculty ranking of journals; and circulation patterns (i.e., use versus cost and…

Provides an overview of the current and future educational technology marketplace, which is considered a fertile area for financial investment. Growth factors, the emerging mainstream role of technology, and the K-12, home education, and adult education market segments are described. Current and future levels of spending for educational technology…

Compares Malawi's study center system of secondary education, involving community centers, distance education institutions, radio programs, and self-instructional materials, with traditional secondary schools with regard to cost, access, full-examination passes, and subject passes. Finds that study centers increase access to second-level education…

A resource components cost model was used to establish accurate benchmark cost and resource use estimates from two special schools for youth with moderate and severe mental retardation located within metropolitan area school districts. An accounting framework is presented that can be replicated for assessing service costs and for decision making.…

The two major changes in school finance during the 1970s were legal challenges in courts concerning fiscal disparities and changes in school revenues sources. The only significant 1980s change was decreasing federal revenues. The 1990s focus will be on state revenue changes, staff compensation, site-based management, incentives and sanctions,…

Describes JSTOR (journal storage), an electronic full-text database composed of pre-1990 issues of 10 scholarly journals in the fields of economics and history. Considers linking current issues to the archive; pricing; controls over access; institutional subscribers, including libraries and campus networks; individual subscribers; and budgeting in…

Discussion of the responsibility of school library media specialists for collection development and management focuses on the need to include materials on women's studies. Highlights include justifying collection expenditures; collection development guidelines; identifying relevant materials by genre; and the media specialists' curricular role.…

Examines differences among 29 developed nations in educational differentiation and sorting of students for specialized curricula. Compares countries with differentiated and nondifferentiated education systems with respect to costs per pupil and the scores of students in grades 7-8 on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).…

Examines the practical realities of upgrading Intel personal computers in libraries, considering budgets and technical personnel availability. Highlights include adding RAM; putting in faster processor chips, including clock multipliers; new hard disks; CD-ROM speed; motherboards and interface cards; cost limits and economic factors; and…

Presents Bobby Roberts, director of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS), and describes some of the changes he has made since 1989: raising public library tax rates, doubling the book budget, library automation, new and renovated buildings, adult public programming, library cooperation, and fund raising. Discusses politics and the…

A Library Journal survey of 2000 public libraries investigated adult book expenditures and circulation. This article presents statistics on purchasing power and circulation, sources used for purchasing decisions, where books are purchased, top circulating genres, topics of increased patron and librarian interest, topics being weeded and replaced,…

Research conducted over the past 25 years on the relationship between the funding of education and student achievement is analyzed and synthesized. Once a base level of funding has been provided, judicious spending should be evidenced in improved student achievement, up to an optimum point. Implications for educational spending are discussed. (SLD)

Presents a lesson plan that utilizes a document presented by students to the President of the University of Alberta in 1930. The document lists the prices (with increases) for food and other commodities and concludes with a succinct analysis of why students are moving off campus. (MJP)