Intended to introduce librarians to social science concepts relevant to the future of librarianship, this essay explores Birdsall's thesis that librarians belong to a special class of professions that share knowledge with their clients, and that the problems of these professions are political as well as social and economic. (EM)

This report of a conference convened by the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) Subcommittee on Education provides brief summaries of four panel discussions conducted by 15 federal librarians who had assembled automation systems for their agencies' libraries and information centers. The first panel, consisting of Dean Hough,…

Proposes a resource analysis model to help library managers acquire most appropriate integrated online library system. The model examines human, equipment, and fiscal resources of acquiring library and supplying vendor, complementing respective strengths and weaknesses of each. A resource checklist is provided to narrow range of choices to single…

Outlines factors used by online vendors to decide whether to bid on RFPs (requests for proposals) for library automation systems, including specifications for software, hardware or performance requirements not met by the vendor; specifications based on competitors' systems; the size and complexity of the request itself; and vendors' time…

Presents a decision theoretic model that minimizes the costs of the material selection decision process by using formal methods to rank materials. Illustrations of the process are provided, and an implementation method using MARC records is described. (Author/CLB)

In building an emergency management library collection within a training institution, technical data become secondary to identifying common goals, methods, and systems found at the federal, state, and local levels for responding to and planning for disasters and crises. These goals help identify emergency management skills public officials should…

Discusses the problem of incompetent library supervisors in terms of the process that results in the selection of such supervisors, inappropriate supervisory behaviors, and the effects on employees. Several strategies for coping with an incompetent supervisor are suggested. (4 references) (CLB)

Describes attempts to develop quantitative formulas for determining book fund allocations, and discusses the difficulties of this approach in a university environment characterized by scarce resources and conflicting departmental goals. A set of procedural rules intended to promote fair and equitable allocations is presented. (36 references) (CLB)

Describes the emphasis of decision support systems as being on the decision making process itself, rather than the flow of information; reviews the uses of microcomputers in libraries in recent years; and compares five decision modeling software packages. An appendix lists the name, manufacturer's address, price, and hardware requirements of each…

Develops a general understanding of four categories of thinking skill components and their increasing importance: (1) problem solving; (2) decision making; (3) critical thinking; and (4) creative thinking. Methods of incorporating audiovisual media into thinking skills instruction are suggested. Twenty-one references are listed. (MES)

Presents the Public Library Association's planning model for strategic planning in public libraries. The development of the model is explained, the basic steps of the planning process are described, and improvements to the model are suggested. (CLB)

Discusses the development of inquiry skills as a legitimate goal for education and possible ways of using technology to support the inquiry process in classrooms. Three elements of inquiry are examined--how inquiry can be motivated, the centrality of questioning, and metacognitive aspects--and examples of classroom projects are given. (EM)

Program presentations on issues related to the use of statistics by research libraries and business meeting minutes are combined in this report from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). The full text is provided for the three papers on the program theme that were presented at the meeting: (1) "Information to Manage--The Economics of…

Several consultants address the development and use of RFPs (requests for proposals) in the library automation procurement process, including the cost of developing a request; the need to concentrate on overall goals, not just the document; and the usefulness of the request as one step in a broader planning process. (CLB)

Compares current approaches to decisions involving the preservation of library materials and describes a national project aimed at identifying and preserving important classical studies on microfiche. The use of an editorial board of scholars in this decision making process is evaluated and alternative scholarly involvement models are suggested.…