Libraries are under pressure to prove their worth and may not have achieved this fully successfully. There is a resultant growing requirement for value and impact measurement in academic and research libraries. This essay reviews the natural history of library performance measurement and suggests that proof of worth will be measured by the…

Purposeful assessment of space for the understanding and improvement of the academic library is a relatively new area of inquiry. This essay offers a framework to consider different factors affecting such an assessment and insights for undertaking a meaningful inquiry about the relationship of space to an academic library's evolving purpose as…

Discusses the historical method in lexicography, the general characteristics of library terminology, and the current state of library lexicography. Presents a glossary which lists quotations supplementing the coverage of library-related vocabulary in the "Oxford English Dictionary" (OED) and the "Dictionary of Americanisms"…

This essay served as the basis for the opening keynote speech during the Library Assessment Conference in Baltimore in 2010. It set the stage by tracing the demands for accountability in the beginning of the century and outlining progress made. It provided important background and context for the following four keynote papers delivered by Megan…

Describes the participant-observation technique for data collection and proposes its usefulness as a research methodology in library science. Procedural steps are outlined and suggestions are offered for successful completion of participant-observation research. (10 references) (Author/MES)

Surveys some of the theoretical positions that underlie various qualitative research methods and discusses the methodological issues raised by those positions for use in library and information science research. Contextualization, understanding, pluralism, and expression are discussed; and qualitative research methods are compared with a…

Introduces this journal issue which is a symposium on the theory, methods, and applications of qualitative research in the field of library and information science. Highlights include a definition of qualitative research, models of qualitative research, distinguishing features of research practice, comparisons with quantitative research, and…

Argues that the academic goals and commitment to interdisciplinary research as a rationale for the new University of Chicago Graduate Library School as described by Douglas Waples in "Library Quarterly" (1931) have yet to be fully achieved. It is concluded that a new graduate library school ought to be reinvented. (Author/EM)

Discusses the problem of how library education fits into higher education. The aspects of library education that are most compatible with academic rather than professional values are described, and organizational models of library education are defined that can respond to the problems noted. (EM)

Discusses the new sociology of education and suggests applications to current research and practice in the field of librarianship. Connections of librarianship to dominant political, social, and economic trends are stressed, and the need for library research to study those connections is emphasized. (78 references) (LRW)

Discusses use of the grounded theory approach to derive models of the information-seeking patterns of academic researchers. The background to the development of qualitative approaches to information studies in the United Kingdom is described, and the results of four studies of the information-seeking patterns of researchers are outlined. (Contains…

This column presents views of professionals in the library and information studies (LIS) field and assess the state of LIS research. Questions are posed to researchers and practitioners in various LIS fields, asking them to address where they think the research front is. Six respondents focus their discussions on library and information center…

Describes and discusses metanalysis and criticisms of the methodology. Reports on a pilot study which tested the feasibility of metanalytic methods in library science research using the literature on paper- or computer-based information retrieval. (28 references) (EA)

Identifies library perception of forces out of control in scholarly communication system and proceeds to description of attempts libraries are making to regain sense of control. Points of similarity or contrast between scholarly publishers and research libraries are addressed, with emphasis on concept of selectivity. Seven sources are given. (EJS)

Discusses a scholar's reactions to libraries made by Umberto Eco in "De Biblioteca." Topics addressed include functions of libraries, including collecting; accessibility of materials; the scholar's creative use of libraries, and discovering materials not looked for or known about; North American research libraries; photocopying; and…