Results of a survey of the use of blanket orders by research libraries. Covers extent of use, reviewing of dealer's selections, advantages and disadvantages, and prospects for future use. (JS)

Some problems of special collections in research libraries, including methods of acquisition and disposal of duplicates and unwanted materials. (JS)

Properly used, the body of literature on the value of books can help the inexperienced librarian or bookdealer recognize donations that require a professional's appraisal or can provide appraisal information when a specialist's fee would outweigh the value of the books in question. (Author)

The Center provides access to infrequently used research materials in three interrelated ways: (1) it provides a deposit library for such materials from the collections of member libraries; (2) it acquires such materials at members' shared expense and for their common use; and (3) it provides rapid access to its collection materials. (Author/JD)

Research libraries surveyed to determine acceptance, application, and assessment of AACR rules concerned with the cataloging of serials indicate a wide degree of international variation from the standard because of dissatisfaction with entering serials under the corporate issuing body. Preference for a more simplified bibliographic description was…

Nearly all academic libraries keep circulation statistics which are often shared with their parent university, library consortia, and national organizations. This study attempted to discover what goes into circulation statistics by surveying Southeastern research libraries. Libraries were asked what they count in their circulation statistics and…

The "ARL Annual Salary Survey, 2008-2009" reports salary data for all professional staff working in ARL libraries. The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) represents the interests of libraries that serve major North American research institutions. Data for 10,148 professional staff members were reported this year for the 113 ARL…

Feedback from post graduate domestic and international students has highlighted the difficulties many have in coping with academic expectations of critical analytical thinking, reading and writing skills, academic language, referencing and expectations surrounding plagiarism and assessment. Many international students indicate that these concepts…

For education administrators, campus fires are not only a distressing loss, but also a stark reminder that a campus faces risks that require special vigilance. In many ways, campuses resemble small communities, with areas for living, working and relaxing. A residence hall fire may raise the specter of careless youth, often with the complication of…

During the period in which Duane Webster led the Association for Research Libraries (ARL), powerful commercial interests sought for their own financial purposes the information resources essential for providing education and performing research. Juxtaposed was the Internet with its inherent capacity to democratizing these resources. Commercial…

Late last year, Ohio State University (OSU) library director Joseph Branin graciously invited this author to visit for an up-close look at the William Oxley Thompson library renovation and construction project underway on his campus. He eagerly accepted. Since 2001, when he first began reporting on the project, he has been amazed by the plan, its…

This paper analyzes librarians' reactions to the Open OCLC WorldCat. A detailed survey was sent to ARL libraries to explore what, if anything, the libraries are currently doing to prepare for these changes and how they plan to cope with the probability of having all their records open to the whole world. Survey findings indicate that most of the…

This paper reports on a study in which a select bibliography of gay fiction was compiled and checked against the catalogs of the public libraries in Franklin County, Ohio, in order to determine the collection extent and whether catalog subject access is provided for these works. Results show that the percentage of checklist titles held by each…

This report of proceedings contains 28 papers that were presented at an international conference on school librarianship. The papers are: (1) "Multi-Ethnic Materials for Children and Young Adults in a Changing World" (Spencer G. Shaw); (2) "Eating Computers" (Dean Marney); (3) "Literature, Reading and the School Library…

The objectives of the project described in this report were to provide specific, clearly defined options for Arizona libraries to share information and bibliographic resources, propose strategies for implementing the options, and present a phased implementation schedule for implementing them. The report begins with an executive summary which…