ARL is the bimonthly report on research library issues and actions from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). ARL reports on current issues of interest to academic and research library administrators, staff, and users; higher education administrators and faculty; information technologists and those who depend on networked information; as well as anyone concerned with the future of scholarly communication or information policy developments. Each issue explores a broad range of education topics of particular importance to research institutions and academic librarians. This October-December 2003 special double issue focuses on topics surrounding measures of library effectiveness, with commentary on specific measurement initiatives. This issue of ARL includes the following articles: (1) Mainstreaming New Measures (Julia C. Blixrud); (2) Library Users Assess Service Quality with LibQUAL+[TM] and e-QUAL (Kaylyn Hipps and Martha Kyrillidou); (3) A LibQUAL+[TM] Primer (Colleen Cook, Fred Heath, and Bruce Thompson); (4) E-Metrics: Next Steps for Measuring Electronic Resources (Julia C. Blixrud and Martha Kyrillidou); (5) Research Library Involvement in Learning Outcomes Assessment Programs (Sheila Young and Julia C. Blixrud); (6) Evaluating the Educational Impact of Digital Libraries (Martha Kyrillidou); (7) Project SAILS: Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (Julia C. Blixrud); (8) Documenting Usage Patterns of Networked Electronic Services (Brinley Franklin and Terry Plum); (9) Assessing ILL/DD Services Study: Initial Observations (Mary E. Jackson); (10) Time and Cost Analysis: Staff Allocations Project (Dilys Morris); (11) Evaluating the Utilization of Facilities in ARL Libraries (Clifford H. Haka and Jim Hensley); (12) Creating a Culture of Assessment: The University of Arizona Experience (Carla Stoffle and Shelley Phipps); (13) Using Data to Make Choices: The Balanced Scorecard at the University of Virginia Library (Jim Self); (14) Data-Informed Decision Making (Susan J. Beck); and (15) ARL Service Quality Evaluation Academy (Consuella Askew). (Individual articles contain references.)