Describes the Public Library Effectiveness Study (PLES), which was designed to apply models and methods of organizational effectiveness research to public libraries. Indicators of public library effectiveness are described, factor analysis results are presented, implications for evaluating library performance are discussed, and further research is…

Describes a study of the Tel Aviv library system that examined the factors influencing the service range distances of branch libraries and the differences among them in amount of library use. The literature of spatial aspects of public services is reviewed, the geostatistical methodology is explained, and socioeconomic factors are discussed. (19…

Provides a model that maps out five stages of relating library and scientific research: (1) establish an interest; (2) narrow a topic; (3) clarify the variables; (4) refine the procedures; and (5) interpret the unexpected. Provides a student questionnaire for selecting a topic and a format for general note taking. (MDH)

Offers suggestions to make high school libraries more appealing to students, based on results of a student survey. Highlights include comfortable furniture; decorated walls; community information; limiting rules, including the amount of noise allowed; friendly staff; longer hours; more varied programs, including outside speakers; orientation…

Provides nine articles: research on libraries and librarianship, 1997; changing faces of library education (ALA-accredited graduate program title changes); number of libraries in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico; highlights of NCES surveys; library acquisition expenditures; price indexes for public and academic libraries; state rankings of selected…

Describes survey results that indicate Internet access and connectivity is proceeding rapidly despite the geographical, technical, and financial difficulties faced by Canadian systems with large geographical areas and members from different municipal or county jurisdictions. Discusses funding and using the World Wide Web as a reference tool.…

Shows how new terminology related to technological advances has affected communication among library professionals through a literature review and a selective survey of administrators of information technology, public services, and technical services in academic libraries belonging to the Association of Research Libraries. (Author/LRW)

This article presents the results of a survey designed to assess students' experiences with media resources as a means to better understanding academic media center student patron needs and as a first step towards assessing student levels of media literacy, an important but often overlooked component of information literacy. Results indicate a…

As networked digital information proliferates and modern society's need to have access to information irrespective of location rises, the education needed for the digerati, defined loosely as the digital intelligentsia, the whole class of "expert" digital information professionals, becomes an important area about which all information…

This paper presents the findings of a research project about Australian TAFE librarians' information literacy practices. The project addressed two research questions: What are the practices that TAFE librarians use to teach and foster information literacy? What changes have occurred since the last TAFE information literacy survey in 2001? During…

Library Technical Assistants (LTA's) were the subject of a study designed to focus on four areas: (1) the present status of formal LTA training programs, (2) the present and potential job market, (3) the duties which LTA's perform, and (4) the attitude of the professional librarian toward the LTA. Data were collected from two sources--catalogs of…

Describes the methodology and findings of a survey of 196 faculty members at an academic research library. Focusing on use of subject searches in card and online catalogs, the study compared use by faculty from the humanities and social sciences with use by faculty from the natural sciences and engineering. (Author/CLB)

Reports measures of the gains in search time and likelihood of success in known-item searches with the Acorn automated catalog at Vanderbilt University. User time and search success are valued in dollar terms to make the measures meaningful for system design choices. (Author/CLB)

This study compares the rates of single renewal and return from the home loan of English language books of The Ohio State University Libraries across subjects and patron status. The chi square test of equal proportionality is used to make comparisons between data sets. Ten sources are given. (Author/EJS)

Suggesting a diamond as a visual metaphor for upcoming research in school library media, this article discusses four questions that would occupy the corners. Questions examine contributions of library media programs to student achievement; roles of the library media specialist in today's schools; how students use electronic information resources…