To aid in controlling the cost of acquisitions in a research library, techniques were developed for the rational selection of serial titles for cancellation. The context for the proposed methodology was a network or multicampus environment rather than an individual library, and it was tested with a specific body of health sciences serial titles in…

The Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) compiles these SPEC Kits as a means of sharing management techniques and expertise. The materials enclosed in each kit are reproductions of working tools developed by individual libraries to meet their specific purposes within a limited area of library…

Relatively little is known about the information-seeking patterns of students using college libraries. In order to assess the bibliographic search process of students, a questionnaire and log form were given to 55 undergraduate students at Bucknell University's Bertrand Library. Forty-seven students completed the log and questionnaire. Each of the…

A national probability sample was made to survey the costs, the characteristics of materials loaned and borrowed, and the present and future magnitude of interlibrary loans for academic libraries. From a sample of 80 libraries it was found that the cost of a filled loan request varied between two and seven dollars and that lending cost per…

Using Ehrenberg's application of mathematical models to the analysis and prediction of repeated buying patterns of consumers, this study focuses on the concept of library use as a form of consumer behavior. The following hypotheses were tested: designated library user groups will tend to exhibit stable behavioral patterns with respect to the…

Statistical sampling techniques for the measurement of book readership within libraries are described. The procedures, developed and initially implemented at Rider College, rely upon interviews of book readers inside the library rather than upon such indirect usage measures as which volumes are lift on tables for reshelving, or analyses of user…

The feasibility of developing cooperative arrangements for sharing exotic foreign language serial titles among the health sciences libraries of California was investigated. Preliminary circulation counts indicated that 74 percent of the 77 titles counted had circulated twice a year or less and that the health sciences libraries do maintain…

The effectiveness of current subject cataloging practices for assigning geographical headings to local historical records in meeting the requirements of an escalating number of genealogist-patrons was examined. The findings indicated that catalogers use two general approaches in determining subject headings for local historical collections in the…

Special libraries in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area who were members of the University of Southern California (USC) School of Engineering Industrial Associate program were surveyed on their use of the USC program and other similar programs. The questionnaire was designed to discover the attitudes and needs of the Industrial…

A thorough understanding of the uses and applications of statistical techniques is integral in gaining support for library funding or new initiatives. This resource is designed to help practitioners develop and manipulate descriptive statistical information in evaluating library services, tracking and controlling limited resources, and analyzing…

Part 1 of this two-part book examines "the subtle and ubiquitous nature of change." The purpose of the first group of readings is twofold. First, the works of Wasserman, Meadow, McAnally and Downs, Pettinger and Zapol, and Steere comment and report on needs, obstructions, and futures of many aspects of library-media-information programs and…

A study on information technology and public policy examined relationships among information providers and their clients in order to determine the economic, institutional, and technological factors that are key in deciding how people get the information they need. The research project was conducted to help the National Commission on Libraries and…