The efficiency and effectiveness of a domestic blanket approval plan is compared with traditional acquisitions procedures based upon a unit cost study carried out at four libraries in the state university system of Florida. Comparative costs are measured. (2 references) (Author/NH)

A mathematical model is used to justify having the Library of Congress do as much as possible of all the original cataloging for U.S. libraries. It is suggested that the potential savings due to decreased duplication of effort by local libraries could easily justify the use of a computer system at LC. (Author/JB)

Discusses a study which examined the disposition, one year after input, of a sample of original cataloging contributed to the OCLC database by the Indiana University at Bloomington Libraries. (Author/FM)

Discusses a library at the University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg) containing both classroom aids demonstrating the physical and creative development of books and a permanent, working collection of materials accessible to librarians, publishers, writers, and illustrators involved with children's literature. (JM)

This paper examines the extent to which U.S. Association of Research Libraries (ARL) are providing services to their distance education library patrons, it reveals whether each U.S. ARL library has a designated librarian in charge of services to distance education students, and it presents the perceived challenges faced by distance education…

Beginning in 1995, the University Libraries of Virginia Tech embarked on a major shelf-load reduction/storage project. Every effort was made to communicate the scope of the project to the teaching/research faculty of the university. This article presents an overview of the project, with emphasis on ways in which sensible criteria, advance…

In this column on digital repository management, the author defines three areas within the sphere of digital repositories that need work. The first two pertain to information architecture, while the last one pertains to taking action. The author's first "wish" is for top-notch library Web sites that act as a gateway to any sphere of knowledge. He…

After entering as a "bit player" among feudal lords, she became an honored, celebrated campus leader. Building and repositioning the library, Susan Nutter brought it from what one senior professor called "an embarrassment" to its current role and site, a central force and place in the academic enterprise at North Carolina State…

The National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematical Education Digital Library (NSDL), inaugurated in December 2002, is developed to promote science education on a comprehensive scale. The Journal of Chemical, Education (JCE) Digital Library, incorporated into NSDL, contains its own collections of digital resources for chemistry…

Research library catalogs serve as authoritative sources of access. The increasing practice of including Web sites in the catalog, resources not under the library's control, raises new issues of the catalog's accuracy and reliability. An analysis of ARL libraries' catalogs examined the persistence of cataloged URLs. Error rates ranged from a low…

In recent years an increasing number of publishers have adopted tiered pricing of journals. The design and implications of tiered-pricing models, however, are poorly understood. Tiered pricing can be modeled using several variables. A survey of current tiered-pricing models documents the range of key variables used. A sensitivity analysis…

The purpose of this study was to describe undergraduate students' experiences and perceptions of online courses based on interviews, observations, and online focus groups. I describe (a) motivational and learner characteristics within online classes, (b) the positive and negative aspects of online courses as experienced by students, (c) what…

The days of top-down communication and controlled internal messages at a library organization are--or should be--behind us. Modern libraries must be fluid and flexible organizations with equally nimble internal communication infrastructures in place to keep up with the fast-paced environments that have been created in these organizations. As is…

This article presents an approach for developing a theory related to university library group work. Next, it reviews generic group-related phenomena indicated by the approach, applying these phenomena to university libraries. Finally, the article surveys this theoretical development, revealing that most of it remains to be accomplished.

Five papers examine the adoption of resource based learning at Charles Sturt University (Australia). "Literature Searches and Distance Education: Whose Problem?" (Stephen Parnell) discusses the question of who should accept responsibility for the intellectual content of literature searches; the library is at the center of a resource…