In June, 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down five decisions which significantly altered the legal definition of obscenity, placing greater emphasis on local community standards for judging a work obscene. A survey of public libraries was conducted in 1974 to determine if these decisions had resulted in an increase in community…

A study of genre fiction classification used circulation data and a patron questionnaire to test whether physically separating fiction into categories will increase use; marking spines with category labels will increase use; use of classified fiction will increase with library size; and classification will increase the number of different books…

This report includes statistics reported to the Missouri State Library by the various public, academic, special, and institutional libraries in Missouri. All data included in the report was supplied by the responding libraries, and the statistics were not edited or altered. The report is arranged alphabetically by type of library. Each type of…

In recent years there has been a push for libraries to develop and use systematic measures to determine the effectiveness of library service. Materials availability, or fill rate, is one of many output measures used in libraries. This technique measures the degree to which library customers are able to acquire the materials they want during their…

This document presents the program and proceedings from the 68th International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Conference held in Glasgow, Scotland, August 18-24, 2002. Topics of presentations include: library services for parliaments; needs assessment; the effects of September 11th on information provision and privacy;…

Discusses results of a Web-based survey that was conducted to determine the extent to which Canadian public libraries are collecting multilingual materials, methods used to select materials, and whether public librarians are prepared to provide multilingual clientele with adequate materials and services. Examines constraints preventing public…

Describes the incongruence between the service priorities of the public library community and the public. The results of a public poll on library roles (e.g., educational support, independent learning, preschool programs, community information, reference, and popular materials) and an analysis of public library data for 1992 are compared and…

Discussion of information literacy focuses on the homework help centers developed by the County of Los Angeles Public Library. Describes a study conducted in partnership with the University of Southern California that investigated the cost effectiveness; success; and student, teacher, and parent perceptions of the centers to justify funding. (LRW)

This submission presents sixteen issues of Fast Facts from the Library Research Service covering topics regarding academic, public, school and special libraries in Colorado, the Mountain West and Southwest Regions. The following are Fast Facts titles from 2006 (1) Colorado Public Library Performance Rankings (2004 Data); (2) How Librarians Help…

The overriding goals of this research project, which investigated the extent to which the rural public library is meeting the information needs of its constituents, are to enable the rural public library to become a more efficient disseminator of information and to enhance its role in the development of rural America. The study targeted both rural…

This report considers the issues of gifts, donations, collection development, long-range planning, and budget constraints which arose as a consequence of a collection development study undertaken for a public library system serving a population in excess of 200,000. Gifts to the general collection are distinguished from gifts to special…

The 1976 20th annual report for the Council in Library Resources (CLR) reviews the highlights of the past two decades, describes current activities in the context of the past, and relates those activities to the Council's perception of the development of an improved library system in the U.S. and abroad. The Council's board of directors, committee…

This study evaluates the effectiveness of public library federal funding as a basis for recommendations for improvements in the federal system. Effectiveness is measured by: (1) state-by-state analysis of public library finance characteristics and changes; (2) examination of the federal role and funding, particularly the Library Services and…

A study was conducted to determine whether the acquisitions and processing services available to Neill Public Library in Pullman as a cooperative member of the Washington Library Network would be more cost effective than in-house acquisitions and processing operations. The relevant literature is reviewed and descriptions of work studies in…

Public library use and librarians' knowledge of access to government documents were assessed through a survey of 108 participating public libraries in Kentucky in preparation for a one-day workshop providing instruction in government documents. Response rate was 43 percent. Community needs were determined by classification of the particular…