A panel discussion on bibliographic instruction was presented by three librarians at a meeting of the New England Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries in November 1974. Defining bibliographic instruction as instruction in the use of library materials rather than library orientation, the panelists talked about the…

The function of a Federal research library reflects the purpose of the laboratory it serves and the philosophy of the librarian. Libraries at the Fish and Wildlife Service research centers must rely on small specialized collections, supplemented by a large amount of cooperation among agency libraries and other subject-related collections. Due to…

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,…

This paper discusses the experiences of the Research Department of the Italian Chamber of Deputies over the past few years. The first section describes the origin of the department in the 1970s, including political factors, basic organizational features, and the salient features of the department's activity. The second section addresses the…

This manual provides a beginning approach for research libraries to better describe the use and users of their networked services. The manual also aims to increase the visibility and importance of developing such statistics and measures. Specific objectives are: to identify selected key statistics and measures that can describe use and users of…

This document is intended to stimulate thinking about the role of the library in the digital age, about the potential--and the imperative--for libraries to meet new needs, and about how these needs will influence the design of physical space. The goal of this document is to expose an array of perspectives on the future of the library and to…

A brief review of the essential background and report on the progress, evaluation and future outlook of this unique program. (Author/NH)

Describes a user-oriented model for setting priorities for services in a medium-size scientific/technical research library. A survey of the research staffs of three organizations regarding their conception of library priorities is compared with the budgets and opinions of the three library directors. The questionnaire used is included. (Author/JD)

Historical review covers: (1) the rise of research and research libraries, 1850-1900; (2) the genesis of reference service, 1875-95; (3) the growth of reference service in the research libraries, 1896-1916; (4) reference practices in the research libraries, 1896-1916; (5) legislative and municipal reference work, 1900-16; and (6) current trends…

In response to a trend in which library services are made available to individuals and groups normally without access to them, direct and indirect costs for various units within a library are reviewed to provide a generic format for deriving those costs and establishing user fees. Precautions are also discussed. (MSE)

Traditional measures of quality are no longer adequate to reflect library excellence and impact. Analysis of an Association for Research Libraries data set showed that there was a relationship between the ARL Index and services; between the number of undergraduate students and services; and between instructional presentations and operating…

Virtual tours delivered via the Web have become a common tool for both instruction and outreach. This article is a case study of the creation of a virtual tour for a university library and is intended to provide others interested in creating a virtual tour of their library the opportunity to learn from the mistakes and successes of fellow…

UCLA, which has one of the top 10 research libraries in the country, has been using Taos software since 1996. However in 2001, Sirsi Corp. announced that it was freezing development on Taos software. As the associate university librarian for information technology at UCLA, the author relates that it was his responsibility to lead the way through…

Introduction: To provide valuable services in the future, libraries will need to create better information systems and set up an infrastructure more in line with the current technologies. The "Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records" conceptual model provides a basis for this transformation, but there are still a number of…