A survey was conducted to determine if California public libraries and systems serving 150,000 or greater populations met certain audiovisual standards established by the American Library Association (ALA). Fourteen public libraries and 11 systems responded to questions covering the criteria. Half the public libraries and the majority of systems…

Reports measures of the gains in search time and likelihood of success in known-item searches with the Acorn automated catalog at Vanderbilt University. User time and search success are valued in dollar terms to make the measures meaningful for system design choices. (Author/CLB)

This paper presents guidelines and tools for action research in the school library which will help the librarian justify expenditures and personnel and evaluate and plan services. It shows how statistics can be turned into meaningful knowledge about what is currently being done in the library, how well it is being done, whether it should be done,…

Literature analysis indicates that surveys are not widely used in the planning process for academic libraries because of difficulties with design of user studies, translation of survey results into management decisions, and acceptance of survey data by librarians. Trends such as competition from private information sources will force a change in…

A reanalysis of data from a national telephone poll (n1181) conducted in 1991 determined that if local libraries faced a fiscal crisis, 47% favored raising taxes, 44% preferred instituting user fees, and 9% advocated reducing services. Frequent library use, urban residence, higher level of education, and greater income were associated with a…

This study aimed to develop a demographic profile of the typical student user of academic libraries. Subjects were undergraduate/graduate students (n=522) at two universities. Results are discussed in terms of: populations of student users, how the library is utilized, predictors of frequency of library use, gender differences, non-native English…

This synthesis paper provides a state-of-the-art analysis of the field of library and information science based on the results of a content analysis of its literature, including selected journals, conference proceedings, dissertations, and ERIC input. The 18 trends and issues identified by the analysis include developments in technology,…

This report is the result of a self-study undertaken by the staff of the University of Miami's Otto G. Richter Library as part of the Academic Library Development Program (ALDP), a management self-study program developed by the Association of Research Libraries' Office of University Library Management Studies. The basic responsibility for the…

This report of the findings of a year-long policy analysis of New York City's three public branch library systems, carried out by the Nova Institute in cooperation with a study committee composed of city and library officials, opens with a brief historic account of the development of the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, and…

One in a series of reports on public service studies by academic libraries that are being administered by the Office of Management Studies (OMS) of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), this report on the self-study of the University of California, Riverside (UCR) Libraries includes a brief description of the overall project and an…

The City of London Polytechnic offers a number of part-time courses leading to qualifications awarded by professional associations and similar examining bodies. The majority of the courses are taught by the departments of accounting and finance, banking and insurance, transport studies, and marketing. There are also courses in biological sciences,…

This study was conducted to determine how library users in California say library use helps them. While most library effectiveness studies infer effectiveness by looking at the movement of materials or reports of user satisfaction, this study proceeds from the assumption that libraries need to know how library use helps in user terms. The study…

This report describes a spring 1982 survey of faculty and student users and nonusers of library audiovisual collections at the State University of New York (SUNY)-Buffalo. User frequency, the composition of user patronage, preferred media formats for learning, and users' perceptions of audiovisual services offered are described. A brief history is…

This compilation of essays and papers in French and English written in tribute to Bjorn Tell, covers various aspects of library and information services from an international perspective, including university libraries, librarianship, research, technology, reference, and organization of information. Articles focus on Berzelius, father of…

Objectives of this study were to assess public library history, current status, trends, and problems and to suggest approaches to improvement. Trends indicate a new era of library and information services, making it necessary for librarians to decide whether the public library will be an active or passive institution for public enlightenment and…