Describes how salary data are collected for "The Municipal Year Book," and presents 10 tables compiled from the 1988 yearbook which provide salary data on library directors in cities of various size populations (from more than 1,000,000 to less than 2,500). Data are broken down by geographic region, city type, and form of government. (MES)

Describes the development of the Federal State Cooperative System (FSCS) for Public Library Data, a system that combines the annual collection of data from public libraries by state agencies with the reporting of national public library statistics by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Future plans are also discussed. (six…

Explains the relationship of two Public Library Association publications concerning measurement of public library service: "Performance Measures for Public Libraries" (1973) and "Output Measures for Public Libraries: A Manual for Standardized Procedures" (1982). The importance of data collection methods is noted in discussing…

Reports an interview with the director of School Match, a firm that has created a database of information on public and private schools to assist relocated families in identifying the best local schools. The firm's finding that library and media services' expenditures relates most significantly to student achievement is discussed. (CLB)

This report is the result of a project which analyzed the current collection of statistics from academic, public, and school libraries by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and by state agencies and prepared recommendations for a more efficient and effective national data collection system. Current data collection methods are…