Introduction: Evidence-based practice is a process through which evidence in its various forms is sourced, appraised and applied in order to solve a problem, inform decision making, or improve practice. The purpose of this paper is to share findings from a qualitative research study that sought to identify evidence used by Australian special…

This study examines the holdings of ARL libraries for core reference titles to see if there is a trend towards canceling the print in favor of electronic, and discusses the implications of duplication of titles in both formats. It also looks at the issue within the context of several areas of study including general reference, arts and humanities,…

Higher education libraries have traditionally sought to be able to demonstrate the impact their services have on student attainment. This is particularly important in the current economic climate where libraries frequently have to defend their budgets in the face of financial constraints, whilst needing to demonstrate better value for money to…

The University of Michigan Library wanted to learn more about the kinds of searches its users were conducting through the "one search" search box on the Library Web site. Library staff conducted two investigations. A preliminary investigation in 2011 involved the manual review of the 100 most frequently occurring queries conducted…

Library 2.0 is a change in the way libraries interact with their users. Technological developments on the Web have had a major influence on these changes. The change also places new requirements on librarians' competencies and skills. This research investigates how librarians themselves see this change in terms of their work identity and working…

An analysis of Quebec academic libraries' direct reciprocal borrowing statistics from 2005 to 2010 reveals that the physical distance separating universities plays an important role in determining the amount of direct reciprocal borrowing activity conducted between institutions. Significant statistical correlations were also seen between the…

This study evaluates whether or not community college libraries have in place the characteristics necessary to develop digital branch libraries to meet the expanding and changing needs of their publics. Using Hon and Grunig's (1999) relationship building criteria as a framework, 98 community college library websites were analyzed to determine…

When looking for ways to improve library services, we considered what data sources were readily available to us and how we could harvest and use this data. We investigated three years of chat reference statistics at Central Michigan University, a large research institution, to gain a better understanding of our patrons' chat behavior. We then…

Respondents to "Library Journal's" ("LJ") annual book buying survey of public libraries nationwide reported that adult book budgets were down eight percent overall, the largest plunge recorded since the survey began in 1998. What's more, for the first time ever, cuts were reported for every region of the country and every size of population…

Presented herein are data that describe collections, expenditures, personnel, and services in 65 medical libraries at Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions throughout North America. In 2005-06, the reporting health sciences libraries held a median of 245,212 volumes, spent a total of $239,944,918, and employed 2,524 FTE…

Women who promoted library services to children in the United States in the late nineteenth century introduced the systematic use of survey research on library practice to the field of professional librarianship. They created a series of qualitative survey-based reports, the "Reading of the Young" reports, which were presented at ALA conferences…

States that a library should be user rather than librarian oriented and gives suggestions for becoming user-oriented. (JG)

These papers presented at a program by the Boston Library Consortium Cataloging Committee had three objectives: to present basic non-technical information on the implications for member libraries of the decision by the Library of Congress to close its catalog and to adopt AACR2; to emphasize the need to make decisions in the next two years on card…

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…

The management consulting firm Booz, Allen and Hamilton, Inc. conducted a study of the organization and staffing of the Columbia University Libraries for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). This is a summary of the report which resulted from that study. The plan presents a framework for the conduct of management programs that contribute…