Describes the American Antiquarian Society, including its history, the evolution of its collections, and the relationship between its staff and readers that make it a leading humanities research center. Discusses the institutional culture and the development of a new area of study, the history of the book in American culture. (Author/LRW)

This empirical research examined scale economies of academic research libraries and developed a total cost function for estimating economies of scale. Suggests that libraries in general, and academic research libraries in particular, are information provision organizations that provide multiproducts and multiservices. Findings indicate that slight…

Reviews efforts by academic research institutions to capture and preserve archival records of American labor institutions, focusing on a recent project to assess the state of labor archives efforts and the challenges facing union officials and labor archivists. Describes the Labor Archives Project (LAP), including the research methodology and…

Reviews the experiences of 12 research libraries that participated from 1984-86 in the retrospective conversion of approximately 21,000 data records describing archival materials using RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network). Factors affecting the amount of time spent on the project--the integrity of finding aids and authority work--are…

Includes a 1991 lecture on the future of rare book libraries and a commentary from 2003. Topics include paper-based collections versus electronic resources; changes in general research libraries; budget shortages; changing priorities; reformatting library materials; and education for rare books and special collections librarians. (LRW)

Examines the economic behavior of academic research libraries, arguing that academic research libraries seek to maximize universities' utility by expanding library collections. Findings are consistent with those from a previous study using a different ranking system and sample data and reconfirm that library collections contribute significantly to…

Librarians at Harvard University have written the most comprehensive guide to selecting research collections for digitization. This article applies the Harvard Model to a digitization project at Indiana University in order to evaluate the appropriateness of the model for use at another institution and to adapt the model to local needs. (Contains 7…

This study applied an analytical technique called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to calculate the relative technical efficiency of 95 academic research libraries, all members of the Association of Research Libraries. DEA, with the proper model of library inputs and outputs, can reveal best practices in the peer groups, as well as the technical…

The rationale for using Activity-Based Costing (ABC) in a library is to allocate indirect costs to products and services based on the factors that most influence them. This paper discusses the benefits of ABC to library managers and explains the steps involved in implementing ABC in the user services area of an Australian academic library.…

Examines the current international economic disruption and its effect on scholarly and academic communities, including a shift in donor philosophy. Considers how academic and cultural institutions are reevaluating traditional areas of support; discusses implications for research libraries, including special collections; and offers suggestions for…

Examines indicators of quality in academic and research libraries, especially community college libraries. Topics include standards of the Association of College and Research Libraries; standards of the business community, including Total Quality Management; quality management as systemic change; impediments to quality; and information literacy.…

Discusses an apparent case of censorship via card catalog indexing in a Florentine research library. The challenge to the authenticity of a fresco by Simone Martini is explained, the ethics of collegiality are considered, and attempts to find redress through various library associations are recounted. (18 references) (LRW)

Examines the information practices and strategies used by interdisciplinary scientists in research libraries. Highlights include gathering and disseminating knowledge outside their core knowledge domains through personal networks, conferences, and the literature; intermediaries who help transfer knowledge and information from unfamiliar subject…

Looks at a seminal article by Arthur McAnally and Robert Downs on the changing role of the university library director to determine whether the changes they outlined in 1973 are still valid. Additional sources of strife for university library directors are described, and requirements for today's library directors are discussed. (Contains five…

Discussion of special collections materials focuses on independent research libraries. Topics include how collection development differs; who they serve; access to the collections, including digital access; and future challenges, especially the need for increased financial support, changes in scholarly communication, and the need for increased…