Public library effectiveness efforts are placed within the context of theoretical and empirical research on organizational effectiveness. The construct, measures, and determinants of public library effectiveness are investigated, and a possible model of the determinants of public library output measures is presented. (Author/EM)

New York University (NYU) Libraries received a 1-year grant from the Association of Research Libraries to study users' responses to its recently installed Geac online catalog, Bobcat (Bobst Library Computerized Catalog). The survey instrument, developed for Council on Library Resources (CLR)-funded national study of responses to public access…

The first article summarizes the findings of four studies which used unobtrusive testing techniques to evaluate library reference services. The validity of this testing method and the conclusions reached are discussed, and suggestions are made for improving reference services in five related articles. (CLB)

A study of genre fiction classification used circulation data and a patron questionnaire to test whether physically separating fiction into categories will increase use; marking spines with category labels will increase use; use of classified fiction will increase with library size; and classification will increase the number of different books…

A user attitude survey was conducted in the main library at the University of Oklahoma before and after the opening of a new library wing which effectively doubled the size of the main library. At the time of the opening of the new wing, the circulation department began using a new computer system for circulation of the general collection. The…

A study was undertaken to identify the tasks which make up the day of library/media specialists in Mississippi. A jury of library/media specialists and professional administrators reviewed tasks identified by the national model and the Mississippi State Board of Education and developed a questionnaire which identified 21 selected library/media…

A three-year study investigated the territorial behavior of children in a spatially unstructured library setting. The children's various solutions to the lack of spatial structure are described, and implications for libraries dealing with groups of children are discussed. (Author/CLB)

Two hundred eighty-three sources are included in this bibliography dealing with libraries, archives, and librarianship in the islands of the South and Central Pacific. Twenty-six island nations are covered, with brief narrative summaries of the library situation given in some cases: (1) American Samoa, (2) Belau, (3) Cook Islands, (4) Easter…

An important component of a library's collection management activities should be a measure of the effectiveness of the selection process. Effective selection should be a reflection of titles chosen compared to titles available as well as patron use of the material selected. To evaluate the collection development activities for the School of…

To study the effect of fees for interlibrary resource sharing, data were collected on all requests made to the State Historical Society of Wisconsin (SHSW) during a period when no charges were in effect (representing a normal baseline); during a period when the charges were announced, but not assessed; and during a period in which charges were in…

Arguing that the study of use of personal space is an important aspect of understanding the total communication process in libraries, this document reviews the literature on personal space research that has been conducted over the last 20 years. Following a general review of the roots of such research, the numerous studies that are described are…

Describes a study undertaken by San Jose State University of business-related ready reference searches done at that library. The results suggest that within certain restrictions of patron questions, librarian training, search cost, and the database, ready reference online searches can be the most cost effective approach to providing business…

This document outlines the methodology to be used for analyzing and reporting data collected through questionnaires at the various libraries of the University of California in April and May of 1982, as the second phase of an online public access catalog (OPAC) evaluation project. It is noted that the project was designed to enable systems…

A randomized experiment was performed in five high schools in which a random half of the students in a sophomore English class received a special 8-week library-oriented treatment designed to improve students' understanding of, attitudes toward, and use of the school library. The treatment was found to have a statistically significant effect on…

This paper reports the results of a study on the role of librarians in college library decision making. Emphasis is placed on the library directors' perceptions of librarians' participation in nine areas of decision making and the form of participation by librarians in these areas. The nine areas of decision making addressed by the study are: the…