The costs of providing access to serial literature in four university research libraries were examined in this study, and a methodology was developed for comparing borrowing costs with the costs of acquisition, cataloging, maintenance, and circulation. Mathematical models are provided by which any library can determine at what frequency of use of…

The organization and development of scientific and technical libraries in the Soviet Union are natural results of the policy of the Communist Party and the Soviet Government for the intensive economic and cultural development of the country. Soon after the establishment of Soviet power, the libraries of the Supreme Economic Council were formed.…

At the meeting of the Association of Research Libraries in Chicago, the principal program element focused on the future of card catalogs, a topic of special concern to large research libraries, whose catalogs are becoming cumbersome, expensive to maintain, and complicated by changes in cataloging rules. Papers by William Welsh and John Rather of…

Given in narrative, tables, and diagrams are the average space requirements for assigned areas, technical equipment, and communication areas which constitute the net area of a research library. The assigned area of a research library consists of storage space for collections, space for readers, space for information and circulation services, staff…

This issue describes up-to-date management training programs that have been developed for librarians by various institutions and organizations. It covers institutional approaches to management training, programs at library schools, regional and national programs, and professional associations' roles. The institutional approaches are discussed in…

This work as one of a series in the Survey of the Behavioral and Social Sciences conducted by the National Academy of Sciences and the Social Science Research Council attempts to answer the questions: 1) who are historians? 2) what do they do? 3) how do they work? 4) what are their needs? 5) what can be done about the needs? The answers come from…

This study examined catalog records and compared the number and type of access points with number of circulations by type of user. Although little significant correlation was found between the total number of access points and total circulation, interesting trends were found in correlations by type of subject and user. (CDD)

This study examined the nature and chronological spread of references used by English-speaking scholars writing monographs on foreign literary topics, and compared the findings to an earlier study of the monographic literature of English and American literature and the humanities journal literature. Implications for research library collections…

In 1984, 17 academic libraries in Association for Higher Education of North Texas consortium used the Research Libraries Group Conspectus to gather data concerning current collecting patterns. Results of study suggest that Conspectus subject breakdown may be too specific for libraries smaller than Association of Research Libraries institutions.…

This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit presents the results of a survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries designed to investigate the changes in research library systems operations since 1994 and to identify future trends. A total of 70 of 124 ARL member libraries responded to the survey. A copy of the…

This paper discusses the impact of change on the State Library of New South Wales (Australia), a large public research library charged with the care and continuing use of a documentary heritage. The first section provides background on the State Library, including history, collection, mission, and use. The second section describes library clients,…

This study explored the perspectives and information behaviors of scholars in the humanities. The following general questions were examined: How do humanities scholars think about, organize, and perform their research? How are information sources used throughout the research process? And, how do electronic information sources affect work…

This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit presents the results of a survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries designed to examine the systems research libraries use to authenticate and authorize the users of their online networked information resources. A total of 52 of 121 ARL member libraries responded to…

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL), in partnership with Geographic Information System (GIS) vendors and foundations launched the GIS Literacy Project in 1992. This SPEC Kit and Flyer provide results from a survey conducted to examine how, in the years since the GIS Literacy Project began, ARL libraries have organized their delivery of…

Increasingly, colleges and universities are building warehouses for little-used library books, which can be delivered to campus on request. Warehousing saves money and provides better climate control for books. Scholars and students today have access to needed information through electronic databases and online catalogues, often from home, thus…