The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is committed to bringing together museums and libraries across the country for conversations dedicated to developing a better understanding of the roles of libraries and museums as providers of public service to communities. The Future of Libraries and Museums in the 21st Century Planning…

Based on the concept that library use measurement should have as its basic starting point the individual patron, a method of data collection and analysis has been developed that explores individual patterns of borrowing over time. The method accounts for the number of visits on which borrowing takes place, number of items borrowed per visit, and…

As background for defining public library adult services in the 1980s the perceived role of the public library in the United States since its inception is summarized and changing definitions are analyzed. Data collection and analysis plans for the Adult Services in the Eighties Project are described. (EM)

Identifies aspects of reference services amenable to evaluation, discusses the need for measures of service quality as well as quantity, presents modifications of current measures that meet this need, and stresses the importance of linking performance measures to library planning. (CLB)

A task force at Northwestern University Library reviewed utility of a slide-tape program in new student orientation, and created an updated version for library use. The year-long project combined planning, goal-setting, budgeting, studying equipment and techniques, script-writing, selecting appropriate slides, and integrating all parts into a…

This paper examines the barriers to cooperation among a group of librarians and trustees in the Bergen County Cooperative Library System (BCCLS) in New Jersey as the group explored the potential advantages of a cooperative automated circulation system. This network of public libraries shares reciprocal borrowing, direct access to borrowing, and…

This report discusses an ex post facto study that was done to examine the effect that the implementation of automated systems has had on libraries and support staff, labor costs, and productivity in the cataloging divisions of the library of the University of British Columbia. A comparison was made between two years: 1973, a pre-automated period…

Recognizing that the proliferation of personal computers and microcomputers has made it possible for individuals to access information and library resources electronically, a user study was undertaken by an academic library to determine if these "invisible" individuals accessed information differently than more traditional library users.…

Discusses issues relating to the reliability, validity, utility, and information value of unobtrusive testing of library reference services; provides suggestions for practical applications of these criteria; applies study findings to library decision making and planning; and identifies topics for further methodological refinement. (Author/CLB)