When resources are scarce, libraries have three basic options, which can be conducted in combination or separately, to bring them into balance: Seek additional funds, reduce expenses, and identify more efficient modes of operation. The authors explore whether, and if so how, the factors that consume or contribute resources--and the tradeoffs…

Issues of strategy and statesmanship that characterize the period prior to a decision for a college merger are addressed. Attention is directed to models of private college merger, based on patterns used in the 1970s, and innovations sponsored by foundations in the early 1980s. Factors that increase the chance of a voluntary merger taking place…

In state fiscal year (SFY) 2000, states expended at least $20 billion on child welfare services, 20 percent more than in SFY 1998. This increase occurred despite the fact that the number of children reported as abused and neglected and the number of children in foster care declined. This suggests that not only are child welfare agencies spending…

Project RETAIN (Retention in Education Technical Assistance and Information Network) is a Florida project to assist school districts through identification and dissemination of effective practices that keep students with mild disabilities in school. One part of the project attempted to establish a consensus among experts in the fields of…

This report is part of South Carolina's effort to move toward "100 percent performance funding" for the state's public colleges and universities and results from a task force's investigation of ways to assess critical thinking. The following eight major findings are reported: (1) policy makers must determine priorities; (2) critical…

This paper provides an overview of a University of California (UC) study of the issues involved in creating an online directory of electronic information resources available to the university community. For the purposes of the study, electronic information resources include bibliographic and other databases available at or through UC libraries and…

A 4-month study was conducted to determine the feasibility and desirability of computer networks for instruction and educational administration in Alaska. Five major activities were carried out to collect the necessary information: (1) interviews with representatives of other Alaska government agencies; (2) a survey of district office staff; (3) a…