Provides librarians and others with summary of types of methods available to determine extent to which books, journals, and other library materials are being used, highlighting circulation studies, survey of user opinions, document delivery tests, shelf availability studies, in-house use studies, and citation studies. Forty-four selected…

The process of identifying items in a library's collection by assigning to each a unique machine readable code has been generally referred to as barcoding. Barcoding is often one of the first critical projects a library will embark upon in the process of automation. This Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit addresses many of the major…

Based on statistical data submitted by almost 3,000 academic libraries as part of the 1978-1979 Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), this report develops a composite profile of an academic research library. Use of cluster analysis of library characteristics to find institutions that were quantitatively similar to one another…

The objective of this study was to determine how large research libraries perform the function of collection development. The paper describes collection development theory within the formal organizational structure of the library, identifies the actual decision points involved in selection of materials, and examines the staff and facilities…

Lists and discusses sources of child welfare materials for the historical researcher: general histories, reference guides, catalogs, bibliographies, directories, abstracts, indexes, and electronic services. Also listed are guides to archives containing--among other items--manuscripts, documents, social agency records, and oral history transcripts.…

Considers the decision that branch libraries, music libraries in particular, have struggled with concerning a centralized location in the main library versus a decentralized collection. Reports on a study of the Association of Research Libraries that investigated the location of music libraries, motivation for the location, degrees offered,…

The Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library installed a theft-detection system, the "Tattle Tape" system marketed by 3M Corporation, to counteract the theft of items from its collection. This research report describes a study that statistically estimated the loss rate for the entire collection and for various broad classes within…

This study examined the ownership of religious texts within academic libraries that were members of the Associated College Libraries of Central Pennsylvania (ACLCP). Results showed that most of the texts in English were owned by the libraries, whereas the texts in their original languages were generally not owned. (Author/LRW)

To find out to what extent the evaluation methods described in the professional literature are actually utilized by practicing librarians, a study was conducted of the collection evaluation practices in 111 libraries supporting four-year colleges. Three assumptions were tested; that collection evaluation in the population would be more heavily…

This paper was submitted to Our Lady of the Lake College as an independent study project in Library Science. It covers the 1125 LI documents listed in "Research in Education" from March 1971-April 1972 and focuses attention on the 169 which are not available from the EDRS. It briefly discusses the relative difficulty of obtaining non…

A study was conducted at the Moffitt Undergraduate Library of the University of California at Berkeley to determine the extent and the cost of book losses due to theft and to determine the cost-effectiveness of book security systems. A sample inventory was taken and the theft rate (13.7%) was statistically derived. The rate of loss was translated…

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)

Random samples of monographic materials from U.S. and Canadian public libraries were matched with collections from similar libraries of different sizes. Strong positive correlation appears between percentage find rate and target library size, with regression analysis suggesting linearity over a wide range of collection sizes. (Author)

The report of a questionnaire study given to 168 students on their knowledge and opinion about periodical mutilation in the Kent State University Library. (Author/PF)

This guide to the papers of John Hunter Walker (1872-1955) which are housed in the Illinois Historical Survey Library includes a biographical sketch of this prominent Illinois labor leader and key figure in both the Illinois State Federation of Labor and the United Mine Workers of America; an organizational statement explaining the acquisition of…