Extracts five conclusions from a survey of library material use studies: (1) recorded use in many libraries is low; (2) use within the library parallels circulation; (3) past use predicts future use; (4) recent materials are used more frequently; and (5) Americans use few foreign language materials. (FM)

Suggests that fundamental questions with broad policy implications and a perspective that approaches academic library from patron's point of view remain to be asked about library costs, collections and their use, library users, and both the academic setting itself and the people who work within it. Seventeen references are cited. (EJS)

Describes the use of "snapshot inventories" to assess the availability of a library collection by measuring the presence/absence of a representative sample of library materials at a given moment. Explains the methods and results of an inventory conducted at Monterey Peninsula College in California. (DMM)

This study tests the widely cited proposition that 20% of a library's books account for 80% of its circulation. Using data collected for a collection development survey, it was found that of the sample of 4,213 books, 799, or 19%, accounted for 79% of the circulation during 1987. In fact, 25% of the books accounted for all of the circulation that…

This statement in support of Education Consolidation Improvement Act reauthorization discusses six topics related to school libraries: (1) purpose of school libraries; (2) research supporting need for school libraries; (3) current status; (4) funding realities; (5) deteriorating book collections; and (6) impact of federal aid. An American Library…

This self-study--part of a series of studies conducted at Michigan State University Libraries--was undertaken to make recommendations for improvements in public services. The study team was directed not to limit its analysis to immediate concerns, but also to take a long-term view of the development of library service. Task forces were organized…

Reviews meaning and theory of library collections and structure and enumerates ways that data on collections can be organized to reveal underlying global structure (links and connections between collections, parts of collections, and users of collections). Definitions of terms applying to eight models described in text are appended. (53…

Discusses the development of a legal collection in the public library in terms of the breadth of the collection, ethical considerations involved in public access to legal materials, establishing a core collection, organizing the collection, and bibliographic aids. Fifteen references are listed. (CHC)

Prepared at the request of the Advisory Systems Committee of the Ontario Universities' Library Cooperative System, this report presents the results of study of the feasibility of a bilingual regional system for maps, or alternatively, the possibility of adapting the Guelph system to CARTESS. The report is presented in three sections: (1) a…

Urges library administrators to reject the findings of the Kent Study concerning the curtailment of library acquisitions and the sharing of library materials. The Pittsburgh Senate Library Committee raises serious questions of flawed methodology in the conduct of the study. Seven references are listed. (RAA)

This report considers the issues of gifts, donations, collection development, long-range planning, and budget constraints which arose as a consequence of a collection development study undertaken for a public library system serving a population in excess of 200,000. Gifts to the general collection are distinguished from gifts to special…

This paper outlines the procedures for a study that will focus on the information needs of the 12 Department of Sociology faculty members at Ball State University. By comparing needs of the sociology department with current holdings in the library, deficiencies in monograph and serial holdings are expected to be identified. Needs are defined here…

Seven articles on library reference services highlight reference obsolescence in academic libraries, major studies of unobtrusive reference tests, methods for evaluating reference desk performance, reference interview evaluation, problems of reference desk control, online searching by end users, and reference collection development in…

Discussion of library cooperation focuses on a survey that investigated cooperation among university libraries in Ghana. Library cooperation in the United Kingdom, United States, and Nigeria is described; areas of cooperation in Ghana are discussed, including interlibrary loans, cataloging, and acquisitions; and recommendations for library…

It is important that librarians research and plan to make the relationship between library collections and remote access comfortable and successful for users and the library. This article discusses the political, social, and economic advantages and disadvantages of remote access. (JMV)