Describes the current status of higher education for women in Saudi Arabia and discusses the special problems of access to library materials encountered by women in this society, focusing on the collections, services, and administration of two women's colleges' libraries. A proposed national educational development plan is briefly described. (CLB)

The Online Computer Library Center, which provides catalogs and interlibrary loan services to most of the nation's libraries, is approaching a financial crossroads and must decide whether to diversify or cut back services. One option would serve academic and research libraries better; the other option would serve public libraries better. (MSE)

Describes a study that used multiple regression analysis to examine whether the apparent influence of sex discrimination on librarians' salaries would be reduced if other factors were considered. The effects of education, employment level, and publications on librarian salaries are discussed, and three approaches to achieving comparable worth are…

Discusses the need to teach undergraduate students the critical thinking processes necessary to formulating and researching a topic, rather than the technicalities of online catalogs. The development and design of an online catalog at Dickinson College, which forces students to make informed choices throughout the search process, is described.…

Reviews results of 36 faculty status surveys published since the establishment of standards by the Association of College and Research Libraries in 1971. These findings present a documented picture of the realities of academic librarianship in relation to stated goals and provide information useful for the reevaluation of faculty status.…

Randomly selected faculty from four state universities in Texas were surveyed to determine the degree to which the library and its resources influenced their decisions to accept university positions. Responses to the questionnaire reveal that faculty may take libraries for granted, as they are not exploited in faculty recruitment. (Author/CLB)

The use of locally produced dissertations by extramural scholars was examined in four Ohio academic libraries. The results include identification of users by type of institution; purpose for which the dissertations were used; and tools and approaches successfully used in identifying and locating the desired dissertations. (CLB)

Describes a survey that examined the extent of library technical processes automation within academic libraries at 10 Caribbean universities. Existing conditions, steps in progress, and plans for future automation are discussed. (8 references) (CLB)

Various aspects of the Integrated Academic Information Management System (IAIMS) initiative sponsored by the National Library of Medicine are explored in 10 articles. An overview of the program, the technologies involved, examples of implementation, approaches to integrated information systems, and the future of the program are discussed. (CLB)

Reports on the third "Library Journal" survey of public and academic audiovisual specialists and media librarians, which focused on the long-term outlook for audiocassette and videocassette collections. The survey covered present and planned budgets, circulation growth, selection criteria, theft, damage, competition from local stores,…

Critiques the InfoTrac system and its use in academic libraries in terms of journals covered by the index; indexing accuracy; ease of use and need for instruction; and effects on the research skills of students relying on the system. (CLB)

Three articles on library buildings present Library Journal's annual architectural survey of completed public and academic library buildings and library projects in progress; guidelines for leasing a shared library facility, and a description of a successful public library building project in Michigan are also discussed. (EM)

Presents a methodology for describing, analyzing, and evaluating the public service functions of serial file systems, and describes a user study conducted in a university departmental library to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of its system in enabling students new to the library to locate known-items in the serials collection. (CDD)

Describes survey of 500 academic business libraries undertaken to gather information on practices in acquisition, use, retention, and storage of domestic and foreign corporate annual reports, and policies related to their circulation and cataloging. Options for libraries collecting these materials are proposed. Institutions in subset are listed.…

To assess the impact of affirmative action requirements on the status of women in academic libraries in the 10 years since they became applicable in this sector, administrative positions in three types of institutions were studied: Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members, non-ARL research libraries, Liberal Arts I college libraries. (33…