A study of how patrons think and behave as they seek information at a major research library (Johns Hopkins University) reveals the need to provide the kinds of services and programs that meet the actual needs and preferences of patrons. Focusing on what librarians think is needed can result in poor service. (Author)

This article explores the questions to what extent educational research addresses library use in education and how the library can contribute to intercultural education. The focus is primarily on elementary education in Europe. Analysis of research publications was based on searches for peer-reviewed journals in international databases, literary…

Electronic books are evolving at a dizzying pace, challenging academic librarians to keep patrons informed about the growing number of features of these resources and their various and varied limitations. It sometimes seems as if students are pleasantly surprised by the ease with which electronic books are accessible as often as they are…

To update a 1977 study of indirect cost rates in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions, the Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) contacted several member libraries and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) in 1980 for current information and documents. A number of ARL members…

The purpose of the Resources Development Internship Project was to catalog the collection of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Montana State Office (MSO) library, which consisted of approximately 1,400 volumes of diverse library materials. Other objectives were to improve access to the materials, and develop a general system of library operation…

Collection use study is a must if research collections are to meet scholarly needs while competing for scarce financial resources. Such studies will be in harmony with the realities under which academic libraries must operate in the future. (RAA)

This report describes a 1980/81 project concerned with the formulation and validation of a model for determining whether cancellation and/or consolidation of serial subscriptions and holdings should be recommended to maximize the cost-effective use of combined collections and staff resources in the Boston Library Consortium (BLC). The publication…

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…

This article describes how York University analyzed the results from its 2010-11 implementation of the Measuring the Impact of Networked Electronic Services for Libraries survey to measure value of investments in e-resources. The results were assessed through two variables: e-resources used by faculty when carrying out funded and non-funded…

Interviews conducted in the first phase of a project to develop a method for user selection of purchased scientific and technical information services identified a number of relationship among different populations of users. Research scientists, engineers, and patent attorneys want convenient access to original data identified in the search.…

The second conference on Federal Information Resources continued the discussion, begun in 1970, between the Federal library and information community and the research library community. Although each had its particular mission and problems, there is agreement that some problems are common to the two groups and that, in at least some instances, the…

Patron use of periodical indexes was studied by interviewing patrons on random basis as they used periodical and newspaper indexes. A questionnaire was designed to gather information on citation elements, how patrons locate magazines in library, and how they use university's serials holdings list. Seven references and questionnaire are appended.…

Reviews the controversy surrounding the Pittsburgh study of library circulation and collection usage and proposes the use of citation analysis techniques as an acceptable method for measuring research use of a research library which will complement circulation studies. Five references are listed. (RAA)

Examines the information practices and strategies used by interdisciplinary scientists in research libraries. Highlights include gathering and disseminating knowledge outside their core knowledge domains through personal networks, conferences, and the literature; intermediaries who help transfer knowledge and information from unfamiliar subject…

A statistical analysis of responses to a LibQUAL+™ survey at the University of Colorado at Boulder (UCB) was conducted to investigate factors related to patrons' satisfaction with electronic collections. It was found that a respondent's discipline was not related to his or her satisfaction with the Libraries' electronic collection, nor was the…