This is a general descriptive and comparative report on alternative forms of library catalogs. The specific problems and factors associated with library catalogs are introduced briefly and then treated with respect to the following physical forms: card catalogs, book catalogs, microforms, and on-line catalogs. Whenever possible, examples of…

This document contains validated activities and competencies needed by information professionals working in a library system supplier organization. The activities and competencies are organized according to the functions which information professionals working in such organizations perform: research and development; marketing; customer support;…

Methodologies and findings are reported for a two phase study focusing on the role of the state library system in relation to institutional needs. The first phase consisted of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with the management of each of six government agencies and institutions with actual and potential needs for library system services; the…

The inputs to mathematical models of library operations require periodic updating. The data collection effort necessary for such updating can be quite expensive; however, if the data collected can serve multiple purposes, the costs can perhaps be justified. A management information system (MIS) offers a vehicle for multiple uses of data, and thus…

With the onset of the information explosion, the role of the special librarian began to change. While his service goals remained the same, new techniques had to be developed to cope with the flood of published literature. Both networking and information science represent predictable responses to this situation. Information science offers a new…

Library usage study of OCLC network-provided software and services indicates most users make local modifications to standard practices. Findings are discussed in terms of network models for decision making in software use; methodology of software user studies; and diffusion of innovation processes in postimplementation stages of transaction…

Study of advantages, disadvantages, and costs to small two-year college library of participation in online cataloging network concludes that networking is too expensive for smallest third of nation's libraries. Disadvantages include increased demands on professional staff time and cost in excess of $3.00 per title cataloged. Twenty-three…

This report describes a 1980/81 project concerned with the formulation and validation of a model for determining whether cancellation and/or consolidation of serial subscriptions and holdings should be recommended to maximize the cost-effective use of combined collections and staff resources in the Boston Library Consortium (BLC). The publication…

To aid in controlling the cost of acquisitions in a research library, techniques were developed for the rational selection of serial titles for cancellation. The context for the proposed methodology was a network or multicampus environment rather than an individual library, and it was tested with a specific body of health sciences serial titles in…

This survey was conducted to determine how ARL (Association of Research Libraries) libraries are participating in extension/outreach through three objectives: identify the level of involvement; determine the types of outreach service, as well as user populations; and ascertain the impact on the library, including its financial donor programs. A…

Recognizing that the major technical direction of this decade is toward proximity of computing function to its users, the Research Libraries Group (RLG) is moving to distribute its processing capabilities. The goals of this study were to formulate an architecture for an RLG distributed system, to identify pre-existing components appropriate for…

In February, 1965 the boards of the Cleveland Public and Cuyahoga County Library Districts engaged the Regional Planning Commission to prepare a plan for the expansion or modification of their branch library systems. The general goal of the study was the design of a fully satisfying level of branch library service for the people of Cuyahoga…

The purpose of this plan is to provide a guide for designing improvements in public library service in the Denver metropolitan region and for evaluating the libraries as they develop. The report examines the background of public library planning activities, characteristics of the region, local library systems, area library resources and minimum…

The history, goals, organization and achievements of the Federal Library Committee (FLC) are examined in this graduate paper. A brief initial section relates the history of the Committee from the first recognition of its necessity through its planning, official creation and establishment of responsibilities, organization and funding. The body of…

A model for the organization of multitype library networks was tested on the l43 networks in the United States with public, academic, school, and special library members. Eight indicators of organization and their interdependence were measured: planning, governance, funding, communication and delivery, configuration, administration, evaluation,…