Recent publications and articles that have received national attention focus on the problems that face higher education as well as allegations that American colleges and universities were "failing to give students an adequate general education." The critics are correct and considerable energy is being directed to returning higher…

The theoretical basis for an organizational structure determined by external as well as internal factors--the contingency model--is presented through a consideration of two studies. The current research and speculation which have updated and augmented this theory are also included, and a contingency approach to library organization is justified.…

In the spring of 1978, the Virginia State Library commissioned The Computer Company to conduct a feasibility study of the possibility of establishing a statewide library network for the Commonwealth of Virginia. In this report, the authors respond to that study by identifying three areas of concern for academic libraries: (1) the need for academic…

This edition of a directory to 265 college and university libraries in New York State, compiled from data furnished by the State Education Department, includes address and telephone number, library director, institution president, number of volumes, number of periodical titles received, annual expenditures for library materials, annual total…

These papers presented at a program by the Boston Library Consortium Cataloging Committee had three objectives: to present basic non-technical information on the implications for member libraries of the decision by the Library of Congress to close its catalog and to adopt AACR2; to emphasize the need to make decisions in the next two years on card…

Over 8,000 miles of travel and over 60 hours of interview time with various library staff members at 18 United States academic libraries were involved in this study of gift and exchange functions, their organization, and accomplishment. The libraries were selected on the basis of having a collection of at least 500,000 volumes and representing a…

This directory of academic library instruction programs in Virginia reflects data compiled from 82 academic libraries that responded to a questionnaire sent out in August 1977. The institution libraries are listed with addresses, the name(s) of contact person(s), and a telephone number. The survey results are organized by the format and the type…

Causes for an expanded educational role for academic libraries are identified and discussed, and factors influencing change are described, including improving the ratio of professional to support staff, success of librarian/faculty interaction, and participation by librarians on university-wide committees, need for librarians to acquire new skills…

If librarians from all areas of reference and information service understood their own roles better, then they might feel more capable of fruitful interchange transcending common institutional boundaries. (Author)

A description of techniques for introducing online services to new user groups includes discussion of terms and their definitions, evolution of online searching, advantages and disadvantages of online searching, production of the data bases, search strategies, Boolean logic, costs and charges, "do's and don'ts," and a user search questionnaire. (J…

This article presents data (types of microforms collected, purpose of collection, reviewing media used for microform evaluation, vendors used, degree of service and product satisfaction) developed through a survey of academic libraries with U.S. Government documents depositories. (Author/JAB)

A study of the use of the OCLC interlibrary loan subsystem revealed that nearly two weeks elapse between the entry of a request into the subsystem and receipt of the item. Comparison with other studies shows little change since 1979. (Author/EM)

Discusses ways in which libraries can make a major contribution to the search for educational excellence and urges librarians to make a concerted effort to capture the attention of educational leaders. Four references are listed. (MES)

Three papers discuss: (1) development of the CONSER (Conservation of Serials) Editing Guide; (2) original input of serials into OCLC by the Iowa State University Library; and (3) description of the use of RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network) for serials cataloging with references to uses at the University of Iowa. (MES)

These guidelines for upgrading a local online library system, cover: (1) technical considerations; (2) management issues; (3) planning, including profiling, data file conversion, consideration of add-on programs, and user interface; (4) training; and (5) the conversions process. A sidebar provides data about conversion at the Health Sciences…