Discusses changes in the academic library information environment and considers future possibilities. Highlights include making information useful, not just accessible; a brief history of reference service; technological advances; and the integration of user instruction and reference. (LRW)

Investigates the relationship between learning preferences and the following antecedents of library anxiety: (1) barriers with staff, (2) affective barriers, (3) comfort with the library, (4) knowledge of the library, and (5) mechanical barriers. Participants were graduate students (n=203) in a research methodology course. Analysis revealed that…

Focuses on electronic scholarly-journal publishing. Discusses characteristics of current academic electronic publishing; effects of the World Wide Web; user needs and positions of academic libraries; costs; and decisions of research librarians that drive the industry. (AEF)

A study of 656 undergraduates at the University of Iowa assessed resource and service needs, identified library-wide unmet needs, and engaged library users and librarians in proactive dialog. Recommends improving physical facilities and staff perceptions, increasing public service desk staffing and public awareness of services and resources, and…

Reviews the use of computerized monitoring to study the behavior of remote users of online library resources. Highlights include synchronous and asynchronous information transfer; behavioral traits of remote users; challenges to library services; the needs and wants of remote users; academic libraries and distance education; and…

Describes the Teaching, Learning and Technology Roundtables (TLTRs), designed to help higher education institutions improve teaching and learning with information technology. Explains the development process at the University of Notre Dame, including the decision to establish a TLTR, input of librarians, partnerships with faculty, student and…

Investigated the psychometric integrity of scores from the LibQUAL+ evaluation of perceived library service quality conducted by ARL (Association of Research Libraries). Examines score structure, score reliability, score correlation and concurrent validity coefficients, scale means, and scale standardized norms, and considers the potential of the…

Describes a cooperative project among three German libraries that used the Balanced Scorecard as a concept for an integrated quality management system. Considers performance indicators across four perspectives that will help academic libraries establish an integrated controlling system and to collect and evaluate performance as well as cost data…

Discusses library support services at Deakin University (Australia) and describes a model for aligning the library liaison program with the strategic initiative to attract and retain doctoral students. Highlights include the needs of off-campus research students; information literacy in the electronic age; electronic resources; and competencies…

Western Kentucky University Libraries developed a survey similar to its Web-based library satisfaction survey, with identical content for library Web and exit patrons to compare these groups' responses. Focuses on the collection of Web and exit survey responses in a two-week period, transformation of response data for analysis, comparison of the…

Discusses the life cycle costs of acquiring and maintaining an academic research library and develops a methodology to determine the life cycle costs of collections based on statistical data collected by the Association of Research Libraries. Results indicate the cost structure of a research library is largely driven by its monograph collection.…

This review synthesizes what is known about the characteristics and leadership style of university librarians and academic library directors. It is the leadership of the library that determines whether a philosophy and vision are articulated and to what extent they are implemented. Leadership influences a library's effectiveness, institutional…

A Hunter College librarian, with public library experience, offered a series of drop-in workshops Saturday afternoons open to all students and questions regarding Web or Windows use in the academic year, 2000-2001. The intention of the workshops was to address the continuous needs of students lacking technological and informational literacy. The…

Academic libraries today are complex institutions with multiple roles and a host of related operations and services developed over the years. Yet their fundamental purpose has remained the same: to provide access to trustworthy, authoritative knowledge. Consequently, academic libraries--along with their private and governmental counterparts--have…

This paper focuses on how an academic library managed changes in services and space to meet customer needs for streamlined services, increasing efficiency for students, faculty and staff in finding, analyzing, sharing, and producing knowledge. The Ohio State University's John A. Prior Health Sciences Library (PHSL) has merged its circulation and…