Describes results of a 1986 survey of adult public library users in Mississippi. Data are reported on occupation, age groups, sex, level of education, frequency of visits, and services used; and results are compared with the findings of surveys of public library patrons in other states. A copy of the questionnaire is included. (six references)…

Discusses the evaluation of library reference service; examines problems with past evaluations, including the lack of long-term planning and a systems perspective; and suggests a method for continuously monitoring and improving reference service using quality improvement tools such as checklists, cause and effect diagrams, Pareto charts, and…

Argues that a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures is most efficacious in library collection analysis. Cases drawn from the literature in which a combination of these measures was profitably applied are considered, and the types of software packages for purposes of data manipulation are discussed. (Contains 15 references.) (KRN)

Describes a study that was conducted at the University of Botswana library to determine the extent to which Library of Congress catalog cardsets facilitate the cataloging and classification process. Flow charts for cataloging and classification are described, and estimates of cataloging costs using cardsets are compared with costs for original…

A study investigated the relationship between the completeness of end users' mental models of an online system and their ability to use the system effectively. Although all of the study subjects were relatively successful, those with more complete mental models tended to have better search results than subjects with incomplete or poor mental…

A factor analysis of affective data gathered from searchers of an online library catalog, and a card catalog allowed researchers to isolate factors leading to success or failure in information retrieval. Factor patterns serve to identify how searches are evaluated by users. Further research is suggested as are features to facilitate successful…

Presents an interim report on a study investigating the impact of flexible and fixed scheduling of library instruction on library media specialists' consultative and instructional roles. The relationship between scheduling and the number of the media specialist's consultative tasks, library instruction lessons offered, and participation in student…

A survey on the role of academic library committees showed that not all libraries use committees in significant roles; committees do not guarantee librarians a significant voice; librarians were positive about policy-related committees and negative about fact-finding and information-gathering committees; and smaller libraries used committees more…

Reports on discussions from the 1991 ALISE (Association for Library and Information Science Education) Annual Conference about modernizing the curricula of doctoral programs; federal funding for doctoral education; evaluating faculty performance; research on a range of topics by ALISE members; the closing of Columbia University's library program;…

Describes measures of cost effectiveness that are useful for academic library collections, based on experiences at the Louisiana State University libraries. Highlights include circulation analysis of newly cataloged books; current periodical use compared to cost; faculty ranking of journals; and circulation patterns (i.e., use versus cost and…

Study of New Zealand public library effectiveness duplicates research by Childers and Van House which examined the multiple constituencies model of organizational effectiveness. Librarians, users, and councillors rated performance indicators identified from the literature, and similarities and differences between the two studies are reported. A…

Describes an analysis of transaction logs of the online catalog at the University of Missouri-Kansas City that examined patron use of both controlled and uncontrolled vocabulary subject access during the same search session. Hypotheses tested are discussed, and recommendations are made for library instruction and online catalog design. (six…

Discussion of access versus holdings of academic library materials and the performance of document-delivery services focuses on work at the University of Liverpool (United Kingdom) that is investigating existing and future document supply services, including costs. Expresses concern regarding the low level of subject coverage by many of the…

Discusses the results of a nationwide survey (57 survey questions) of academic libraries that investigated fund-raising programs, including personnel involved; goals and costs of fund-raising; library donors, friends, and advisory groups; priorities; and factors of success, including involvement of the director and time on task. A copy of the…

Library literature from the late 19th century to the present offers numerous guides to materials selection. Yet, collection development policies and lists of selection criteria are inadequate for humanities electronic texts. Libraries, humanities disciplines, and electronic texts are too complex for any rigid approach to acquisition. To meet goals…