This preliminary study suggests that the same level of timeliness and accuracy can be obtained for answers to reference questions using resources in freely available World Wide Web sites as with traditional print-based resources. Discusses implications for library collection development, new models of consortia, training needs, and costing and…

Identifies the main costs in on-site and off-site (remote electronic publications) public library collections and specifies the main challenges in an on-site/off-site collection strategy. Presents a costs identification table, table of direct costs, and costs and user-levels table. Considers cost trends and discusses advantages and disadvantages…

The technological infrastructure at New Hampshire's Brewster Academy has affected policy building, teaching methods, staff development, and administrator role. The five-year phased implementation of a school design model based on universal connectivity and curricular embedding is discussed, with emphasis on network architecture, financial…

Considers policy formation for libraries providing Internet access to users. Topics include budget issues; staffing, including training; patron use, including time limits, downloading, and printing; library service and programs; legal issues, including intellectual freedom, copyright, and institutional liability; and sample policies available on…

Presents budgeting requirements that are needed to meet the electronic library needs in small- and medium-sized academic libraries based on library automation activities at Southern Methodist University (Texas) and a review of the literature. Highlights include cooperative ventures; fund raising; personnel needs; benefits of automation; strategic…

Describes Haverford College's attempts to integrate scientific electronic journals with previously held formats to enhance accessibility and to reduce costs. Highlights include material formats; faculty and department cultures; consortial arrangements; users' habits; implications for online catalogs; financial issues; and communication between…

Discusses special aspects of East Asian collections and explores how organizational changes in academic libraries affect them, based on experiences at the University of Arizona. Considers total quality management; continuous quality improvement; teamwork; staffing changes; specialization versus generalization; budgetary restraints and cost…

A study of the financing of 96 small rural K-8 and K-12 Missouri school districts found that it was more difficult to support small rural high schools than small rural elementary schools. Small K-12 districts could convert to K-8 districts and contract with adjoining districts to instruct their high school students. (TD)

This study showed that working during high school had negative effects on 15 of 23 Grade 12 and postsecondary outcomes such as achievement, coursework selection, educational and occupational aspirations, and college attendance. These effects were found with control for background variables and parallel outcomes from Grades 8 and 10 based on the…

The individual works of Eric Hanushek and the collaborative efforts of Hedges, Laine, and Greenwald in the 1980s and 1990s focused a substantial amount of attention on the relationship between education budget allocations and school performance. Using their opposing hypotheses as a theoretical framework, this study focuses on K-12 education in…

There is a vast body of literature on school size but comparatively few high quality empirical studies comparing outcomes in schools of different sizes. This systematic review synthesizes the results of the published research from 31 studies on the effects of secondary school size from OECD countries since 1990. Overall the directions and patterns…

This is the 12th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District (RUSD). This year, the analysis again focuses on the long-term historical trends in RUSD. The analysis compares RUSD data to data of nine peer school districts as well as statewide data. The peer districts are defined as those Wisconsin districts with…

Many states have enacted or are considering proposals to give tax credits for contributions that provide tuition scholarships for students in K-12 schools to attend the private or public schools of their choice. This study seeks to inform the public and policymakers about the implications for Montana if the state were to enact such a program. The…

Year after year, the goal of educators, parents, and concerned citizens throughout Alabama is to provide this state's children with the highest level of quality education possible. The future of Alabama's businesses, industries, commerce, labor force, arts, humanities, and countless other areas are determined by the education that is provided to…

This study empirically tests the notion that consolidating smaller public school districts will save taxpayers money. Multiple regression analyses are employed to analyze the relationship between district size and per-pupil expenditures in the state of Michigan, focusing on the five most recent school years for which data are available. The…