Introduction: Uncertainty is understood as an important component of the information seeking process, but it has not been explored as a component of reference and information service. Method: Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to examine the practitioner perspective of reference and information service for eight academic research…

Introduction: Text genres used by so-called information organizers in the processes of information organization in information systems were explored in this research. Method: The research employed text genre socio-functional analysis. Five genre groups in information organization were distinguished. Every genre group used in information…

What began with a few libraries' early application of ethnographic methods to learn more about user behaviors and needs has grown to become a significant body of work done across many institutions using a broad range of methods. User-centered investigations are increasingly influential in discussions about the shape and future of the research…

Describes the National Coordinated Cataloging Program, a formal system in which selected research libraries follow agreed-upon practices for creating national-level bibliographic records. The aims and assumptions of the program, initial considerations for implementation, and the pilot project scheduled to begin in 1988 are discussed. (MES)

Important to the cost analysis process is prior consideration and precise description of the scope of the activity and the tasks to be included so that proper methodology can be applied and the data can be collected with consistency and accuracy. The preparatory steps involved in doing a cost study, particularly in the area of cataloging in a…

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…

The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences Library at New York University, with a collection of 30,000 books, 13,000 bound periodicals, 450 current periodical subscriptions, and miscellaneous reports, documents, and reprints, shelves books alphabetically by author, and journals alphabetically by title. Conference proceedings and lecture notes…

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…

The experience of the research library of International Flavors and Fragrances using on-line data bases is described. On-line searches of Chemical Abstracts condensates and other data bases are compared with the library's previous experience with manual indexes. Two tables show the number of literature searches conducted and the time required.…

Identifies library perception of forces out of control in scholarly communication system and proceeds to description of attempts libraries are making to regain sense of control. Points of similarity or contrast between scholarly publishers and research libraries are addressed, with emphasis on concept of selectivity. Seven sources are given. (EJS)

This paper explores the potential for and progress of a gradual transition from a highly centralized model for cataloging to an iterative, collaborative, and broadly distributed model for electronic resource description. The purpose is to alert library managers to some experiments underway and to help them conceptualize new methods for defining,…

Argues that preservation and collection development can be effectively coordinated only when the underlying political forces driving these two operations are defined and compared. The discussion explores some of the functions and values of preservation and collection development from a primarily political point of view in three contexts:…

A complex tool, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to evaluate the relative efficiency of major academic research libraries that are members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Results of a two-year base line study using traditional measures taken from 1995-96 ARL statistics are reported. (AEF)

An environmental library system (ELS) for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has been developed and installed in six HUD offices to bring together all nationwide and local environmental source materials in an information system with comprehensive cataloging and computer-assisted access. The accompanying manuals…

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has collected descriptive data from its members for the better part of the 20th century. This data shows that as libraries' environments change to reflect increased interest in accountability and institutional outcomes. To account for this, an ARL New Measures Initiative has been established to develop…