This technical report contains the survey forms and statistical detail of a study of Massachusetts libraries, the purpose of which was to assess the current state of library services and library cooperative activities in Massachusetts and recommend strategies to develop an action plan for the improvement of library services. In particular, the…

This paper provides guidelines for establishing a parliamentary research service. The following steps are described: (1) establish a robust democracy as the context for the parliamentary research service; (2) counter alternatives to a parliamentary research service, e.g., personal staff, party-based research, university contacts, interest groups,…

Discusses collection development in research libraries and the need for collaboration. Topics include quantity versus quality; a future vision of libraries; the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) as an example of cooperative collection development; users' information needs; and the use of telecommunications. (LRW)

Describes an initiative of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Scholars Portal Initiative, a three-year collaborative effort which seeks to provide tools for an academic community to have a single point of access on the Web to find high-quality information resources and to deliver the information and related services directly to the…

As the price of scientific publications soars to Olympian heights, it becomes imperative to base selection decisions on reliable measures for potential use of the prospective titles. A systematic examination of interlibrary loan (ILL) requests should yield hard facts as to the nature of requests and areas of specialization most dependent upon…

Urges the research library community, in which ownership is traded for access and competition for cooperation, to take concerted action to survive declining resources and the impact of electronic information technology. Concrete steps that can be taken toward contributing to a new world of scholarly communication are suggested. (Contains 12…

This publication contains the following essays: (1) "Das Bibliothekssystem der Ruhr-Universitat Bochum: hochschul-und stazungsrechtliche Grundlagen" (Bernhard Adams); (2) "On Appropriate Librarianship: The Genesis of the Library of Today, and Its Possible Exodus Tomorrow" (Maurice B. Line); (3) "The Challenge to Library…