The purpose of this study is to provide data for making decisions on whether to buy or borrow research materials and whether to use fee-based suppliers or interlibrary loan for obtaining photocopied materials. The study is based on 1991 information collected in a survey of 76 U.S. and Canadian research libraries. The cost per transaction is broken…

The need to plan for operating and service patterns and to establish priorities for services to readers in the new Reference and Bibliographical Center at the Newberry Library guided this self-study. From December 1983 to August 1984, 32 staff members (grouped into 1 study team and 4 task forces) investigated the critical issues of bibliographic…

Librarians at Harvard University have written the most comprehensive guide to selecting research collections for digitization. This article applies the Harvard Model to a digitization project at Indiana University in order to evaluate the appropriateness of the model for use at another institution and to adapt the model to local needs. (Contains 7…

Refereed articles from "College & Research Libraries" and "Journal of Academic Librarianship" between 1990 and 1999 were analyzed with respect to the research agenda developed by the Association of College and Research Libraries. The analysis found that articles on collections, services, staffing, and the Internet have…

Addresses the utility of classification in both current and future library applications and demonstrates the role librarians can play in enhancing public access to information available on the Internet. Reports on a survey of current trends in classification of electronic titles based on catalogs of members of the Association of Research…

Database usage from a random sample of academic and public libraries in the United States and Canada reveals patterns of use in selected types of libraries. Nine tables present usage statistics. Factors that influence database use are briefly discussed. (AEF)

Traditionally, several types of library in Australia have been perceived as having a "research" role, notably the National Library, the state libraries, and the university libraries, together with a few special libraries serving research-producing organisations such as the CSIRO. This paper provides some speculations on how some…

The Improving Literacy through School Libraries (LSL) program was established under Title I, Part B, Subpart 4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). The purpose of the program is to improve the literacy skills and academic achievement of students by providing them with increased…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") is a quarterly report from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). This issue includes the following articles: (1) Rebalancing the Investment in Collections (H. Thomas Hickerson); (2)…

Accreditation is critical to the viability of institutions of higher education. Each of the six regional groups that accredit two- and four-year institutions has standards specifically addressing online or distance learning. In general, these standards require institutions to show that distance learners have adequate access to appropriate library…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") focuses on current and emerging topics that are strategically important to research libraries. The articles explore issues, share information, pose critical questions, and provide examples. This issue includes the following articles: (1) Special at the Core: Aligning, Integrating, and…

This manual describes the methods, procedures, techniques, and activities that were used to produce the Academic Library Survey of 2004 (ALS:2004). This manual is designed to provide guidance and documentation for users of the ALS data. Included in the manual are the following: (1) an overview of the study and its predecessor studies; (2) an…

Kids ask the darndest questions. And sometimes they ask them in the darndest places, including online information systems that were not designed to answer them. There is a reason for this continuing phenomenon, and an important lesson in it for school library media specialists and other educators. To understand the phenomenon at hand, imagine an…

Professionally, school librarians are faced with an explosion of choices--search engines, online catalogs, media types, subscription databases, and Web tools--all requiring scrutiny, evaluation, and selection. In turn, this support "stuff" forms a basis for making additional choices about how and what they teach and what they assess. Whereas once…

This study examines the holdings of ARL libraries for core reference titles to see if there is a trend towards canceling the print in favor of electronic, and discusses the implications of duplication of titles in both formats. It also looks at the issue within the context of several areas of study including general reference, arts and humanities,…