Showing papers on "Resource Description and Access published in 1974"

The University Library: Analysis and Proposals

Abstract: The operation of the university library as a means to supply information is examined. It is shown that despite the increase in size of libraries, their standard of service is declining. Reasons for this decline are advanced. The strategic goals of the library are redefined with implications for the library's acquisition, shelving, and retention policies. A Bayesian approach is then developed for determining the information value of the library's resources. In contrast to other work in this field, stress is placed on user evaluation of the library's resources. The approach developed is applicable to decisions relating both to the acquisition of volumes and the maintenance of collections.

A Framework for a Comparative Analysis of Library Work

Abstract: A measure of organizational technology was developed to compare the work of fifteen functional departments in three academic ~ libraries. The s.tudy suggests that work performed in various departments of academic libraries is similar regardless of the department and that, in general, predictable events, routine operations, and relatively low knowledge requirements constitute the technologies or work of the departments.

An Investigation Into the Feasibility of Merging Three Technical Processing Operations Into One Central Unit.

Abstract: r This report'is a study of library cooperation, of how and in what ways it can be enhanced, and of the forces which work against such efforts. It compares three contiguous schools in the upper midwest--a teacher's training college and private 4 year college in one state with a land -grant university in another. It examines the premise that libraries in each of these thre' different institutions can merge once of their major divisions -technical services--into a single administrative unit. Potential benefits from such a merger were felt to be economic, :political, social, and educational. The investigator found that these schools were not yet ready for such a merger. A rationale is supplied which supports this recommendation together with several alternative courses of action which will allow the schools to begin preparing for such a move as painlessly as possible. Accompanying this rationale is a methodology for analyzing library cooperative proposals. The methodology includes a questionnaire, interview techniques, a statistical analysis of acquisition (on-order) file to determine potential overlap, a processinediary study, flow process charts, a staff dispersion study,,cost analysis, and a policies and procedures analysis chart. PREFACE This investigator wishes to thank all those who made this. study possible and who cooperated in its preparation: the TriCollege University Consortia and its Provost Dr. Albert Anderson who funded the study, the Library Directors of North Dakota State University, Moorhead State-College, and Concordia College at whose request the study was performed, and all those staff members in each Library who patiently answered the investigator's questions. A special note of thanks must go'to those essential people (secretaries for the Library Directors') who made endless phone calls and appointments, dug out reports no one else could find, and xeroxed reams of reports all_ with a smiling patience that would have done Job honor. Finally, a note of appreciation must go to Dr. Thomas Boardman of the CSU Statistics Department who assisted in the analysis of the data and to Mrs. Rose DeBruin who typed this report. The cooperation and patience of all concerned were without limit and the only requirements of those who initiated this investigation were that all the faCts be marshalled in as objective a fashign as possible and that all points of vier be heard. Robert W. Burns, Jr.' August 2, 1974 Colorado State University

Late-Study Areas: A Means Of Extending Library Hours

Abstract: In a survey of the late-evening service provided by 169 academic libraries~ it was found that late-night study areas were being used in thirty libraries as a means of extending hours of opening. Most of these areas were open for one to three hours after the library's normal closing hour~ with only nine remaining open all night. Room counts for the twenty-four-hour study area at the University of Denver show use of the area to be light after 2:00 a.m.

An Analysis of LC Retrospective Cataloguing Data to Determine Its Relevance for the British.

Abstract: The cataloguing and classification data base represented by the Library of Congress and National Union Catalogs in their printed book form is analysed by random sampling in order to ascertain its usefulness for re-cataloguing and re-classifying the entire stock of a medium- sized, well-established British university library. The data is found adequate for such a purpose.