Study of New Zealand public library effectiveness duplicates research by Childers and Van House which examined the multiple constituencies model of organizational effectiveness. Librarians, users, and councillors rated performance indicators identified from the literature, and similarities and differences between the two studies are reported. A…

Describes an analysis of transaction logs of the online catalog at the University of Missouri-Kansas City that examined patron use of both controlled and uncontrolled vocabulary subject access during the same search session. Hypotheses tested are discussed, and recommendations are made for library instruction and online catalog design. (six…

Discussion of access versus holdings of academic library materials and the performance of document-delivery services focuses on work at the University of Liverpool (United Kingdom) that is investigating existing and future document supply services, including costs. Expresses concern regarding the low level of subject coverage by many of the…

Discusses the results of a nationwide survey (57 survey questions) of academic libraries that investigated fund-raising programs, including personnel involved; goals and costs of fund-raising; library donors, friends, and advisory groups; priorities; and factors of success, including involvement of the director and time on task. A copy of the…

Library literature from the late 19th century to the present offers numerous guides to materials selection. Yet, collection development policies and lists of selection criteria are inadequate for humanities electronic texts. Libraries, humanities disciplines, and electronic texts are too complex for any rigid approach to acquisition. To meet goals…

Describes a study that investigated the quality of interlibrary loan services in Canadian public libraries from the library's and the user's perspectives and then compared results. Measures of interlibrary loan performance are reviewed; an alternative conceptualization of service quality is discussed; and SERVQUAL, a measure of service quality, is…

Discussion of cultural diversity in higher education highlights the results of a survey that was conducted to identify efforts of academic libraries to facilitate or respond to cultural diversity. Percentages of minority student enrollments, minority faculty and staff members, and minority librarians are examined. (Contains 19 references.) (LRW)

Presents results from the 48th annual "Library Journal" Placements and Salaries Survey (1998). Discusses job trends; increasing salaries; decrease in placements; and graduate responses. Eight tables provide results. A sidebar by Norman Oder profiles a 1998 graduate from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of…

Following a library-wide brainstorming session and retreat, the Dean of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library tasked an ad-hoc committee to discuss implications for the library and its users if certain processes were implemented or eliminated in order to streamline the processing of serials. As the library's collection continues to shift from…

This study examines college libraries so as to determine whether or not they have successfully adapted to reforms at their colleges, based on Terry O'Banion's concept of the learning-college. Although numerous studies exist documenting the transformation of community colleges to the learning-college concept, few empirical studies have clarified…

In June 2004, fourteen students graduated from the first completely online degree program at The Ohio State University--the Non-Traditional PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) program. The program was implemented as a response to the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education requiring this degree for entry into pharmacy practice. This article reports…

Librarians use subject guides to introduce students to library materials. Surveys, usability tests, and usage statistics demonstrate that students do not relate well to subject guides. We suggest that library resources organized or delivered at a course level are more in line with how undergraduate students approach library research. (Contains 26…

In the rapidly changing information environment, libraries have to demonstrate that their services have relevance, value, and impact for stakeholders and customers. To deliver effective and high quality services, libraries have to assess their performance from the customer point of view. Moving to an assessment framework will be more successful if…

In putting up its new, Frank Gehry-designed Lewis Library, Princeton University endured its share of challenges. It constructed models of the building to give the subcontractors a chance to practice. It fired a contractor halfway through the job when the building was past due. It learned that some subcontractors were trying to bribe their way onto…

Western Illinois University Libraries has cut online serials subscriptions in the past 2 years. The librarians were guided by the statistics for downloads provided by the publishers of the journals. However, questions were raised by both professors and librarians regarding the exact meaning of the statistics. This caused the electronic resources…