The process of identifying items in a library's collection by assigning to each a unique machine readable code has been generally referred to as barcoding. Barcoding is often one of the first critical projects a library will embark upon in the process of automation. This Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit addresses many of the major…

This collection of library documents, which illustrates current techniques for conducting user studies in order to facilitate specific public services planning and priority-setting efforts at the member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), contains excerpts from: (1) four general user studies conducted at the University of…

This document is one of ten kits distributed annually by the Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC), a clearinghouse operated by the Association of Research Libraries, Office of Management Studies (ARL/OMS) that provides a central source of timely information and materials on the management and operations of large academic and research…

Preliminary reports from seven Association of Research Library (ARL) members conducting research on current public services concerns describe progress to date and initial findings. Research grants of up to $4,000 were provided for the projects, which were selected in part because of their potential usefulness to academic and research libraries.…

Results from a 1978 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) survey on planning for, and conversion to automated acquisitions systems, and the effects of such systems on library operations and use, organization and staffing, and management information, indicate that 38 of 77 responding libraries had instituted some kind of automated acquisitions.…

This Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit compiled by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) contains documents pertaining to bibliographic access in ARL libraries. Data collected in a 1975 SPEC user services survey are presented in two tables to illustrate new, eliminated, and planned services in ARL libraries and methods of…

Replacing a January 1980 publication of the same title, this collection of cost tables and other documentation from library materials cost studies conducted by members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) or by library vendors contains excerpts from: (1) local cost studies conducted at Colorado State University, Indiana University, Iowa…

A 1978 information survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members indicated that at that time, only a few large libraries were planning to freeze their card catalogs and set up alternative catalog forms as a response to decisions made by the Library of Congress to freeze its card catalog, supply access to its collection through an…

Results of a 1978 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) survey indicated that 68 (89%) of responding libraries utilized an automated cataloging system. Of those 68, 53 participated in the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC), five in BALLOTS, and the rest in other networks or local systems. At the beginning of this collection, a concise summary…

Based on the results of a June 1984 survey of 30 Association of Research Library (ARL) member libraries, this kit contains documents related to automation training programs for ARL library staff members. A summary of survey results indicates that few libraries performed formal needs assessments before embarking on programs related to automation…

Based on information and documents gathered from 103 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries via an April 1986 ARL Recon Project questionnaire, and supplemented with additional interviews and materials gathered throughout the year, this publication focuses on retrospective conversion projects designed to support the implementation…

Based on an October 1982 survey of 31 selected members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), this report presents library planning documents, general system descriptions and reviews, and examples of library specifications--all dealing with integrated library information systems (ILIS). An ILIS is defined as a fully interactive integrated…

Five articles address issues concerned with personnel management in libraries. Topics discussed include ethical issues; hiring practices, equal employment opportunity and affirmative action in members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL); technological changes in libraries that affect motivation and work attitudes; career planning in…

Topics related to research library interlibrary loan staffing and organizational structures were explored through a survey conducted by the Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) of the Association of Research Libraries. Data gathered from 82 libraries show a very small increase in the number of full-time equivalents in loan units between…

For this kit, 119 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) academic libraries were surveyed to determine the impact of online catalogs on the training needs of technical services staff and on the planning and organization of programs to meet these needs; responses were received from 66 libraries. Analyses of the responses indicated that the…