The growing pressures and the complex conditions which now bear upon research libraries are not adequately reflected in the development of policies, plans or current service activities. In the place of current, reliable, and extensive information which might be reflected in decisions and actions, librarians seem to operate normally on the basis of…

In 1973, the Technological Institute Library, along with the other science libraries of Northwestern University, began a study of reference use. For each reference request received in the libraries, the date, time, duration, mode, class of question, and user type were noted. These statistics were tabulated and analyzed by computer. It was…

Prepared specifically for the Planning Committee, the Board of Trustees and the administration and staff of the James Jerome Hill Reference Library, this report reiterates statements and suggestions made in previous reports, but the restatement places emphasis on the sharpening of the Trustees' understanding of the program's objectives. Topics…

This symposium attempts to bring librarians and university presidents together, to alert the presidents to some of the conditions that have blocked librarians from more daring, and presumably more fruitful, cooperative ventures; to seek their understanding and concern for those considerations, and to elicit council, encouragement or discouragement…

Presents an activity analysis of the tasks performed and the time expended by public service librarians at a research library. Data obtained with this tool are evalutated in terms of the differing viewpoints held by library and university administrators. (Author/RAA)

The final report on program and operations planning for the James Jerome Hill Reference Library attempts to: (1) review the general sequence of events in the planning and implementing of the new program, (2) bring together a number of memoranda and other statements previously presented to committees, and (3) assess the future potential of the…

The 133rd meeting of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) focused on strategies for confronting critical challenges associated with the digital era and for fostering understanding from university leaders and supporters regarding the resources needed to perform successfully in this print plus digital environment. Program Session I,…

The need to plan for operating and service patterns and to establish priorities for services to readers in the new Reference and Bibliographical Center at the Newberry Library guided this self-study. From December 1983 to August 1984, 32 staff members (grouped into 1 study team and 4 task forces) investigated the critical issues of bibliographic…

This report pertains to a large research library beginning the change-over to shared cataloging by an on-line system, and the early stages of the implementation of computer techniques for part of the technical processes system of the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC). (Author)

This collection of library documents, which illustrates current techniques for conducting user studies in order to facilitate specific public services planning and priority-setting efforts at the member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), contains excerpts from: (1) four general user studies conducted at the University of…

This final report on a project at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) on strategic planning for libraries and information resources in the research university begins with an introductory section on levels of consideration in planning; issues of current concern (effects of technology, economics of libraries, changes in the academic…

These minutes of the October 1987 ARL (Association of Research Libraries) membership meeting include the following papers on preservation in the research library: (1) "A Challenge for Research Libraries" (David C. Weber); (2) "The Moral Imperative of Conservation" (James H. Billington); (3) "The Role of the Library…

This reference service policy manual provides general guidelines to encourage reference service of the highest possible quality and to insure uniform practice. The policy refers only to reference service in the University Libraries and is intended for use in conjunction with other policies and procedures issued by the Reference Services Division.…

The program planning phase to improve service programs includes the recommendations that the Trustees of the James Jerome Hill Reference Library: (1) commit the physical facilities and administrative organization to serve as headquarters for the cooperative program of academic libraries, specifically the Cooperating Libraries in Consortium, Inc.…

Expressing the concern of the Parliamentary Libraries Section of International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) about the need of legislators for access to up-to-date, reliable, adequate libraries and dissemination facilities, this paper offers a general review of requirements necessary for the initiation and development of legislative…