Review of criteria used to measure library effectiveness

This article reports the results of a survey of literature on measures of library effectiveness. This survey led to the formulation of six criterion concepts (accessibility, cost, user satisfaction, response time, cost/benefit ratio, and use). The advantages and disadvantages of each method of measurement are discussed. Several points which became clear during the analysis are discussed. First, there is a relative lack of concern with the rationale behind the evaluation process, although the results invariably lead to a confused interpretation when there is no clear understanding of the purpose of an evaluation. Second, the total library system is rarely considered; instead, each evaluation criterion is taken in isolation rather than as part of the whole. Third, the library's preservation function has not been considered at all.     

The MEDLARS regional center at UCLA: a progress report

This paper supplements information given in earlier papers on the UCLA MEDLARS Search Station. Four major machine problem areas in the operation of a decentralized station are identified: adjustments required to run a large information retrieval type program in an academic computing facility serving many users; handicap in running time for COBOL programs; advent of the third generation of computers with attendant preparation; and need for constant current communication among all members of a decentralized network system. Statistics are given for the initial operating period, January-May 1966: 119 search requests received, 109 formulated, and 60 fully processed. Parallel searches with other MEDLARS installations, comparisons of MEDLARS and manual Index Medicus searches, and other search activities are reported.     

Sources of information on medical geography

Adequate research in the peripheral field of medical geography requires familiarity with the literature of medicine, geography, and other environmentally oriented fields. The pertinent literature of the two primary disciplines, as well as that of anthropology, nutrition, and human bioclimatology, is surveyed from a bibliographical point of view. A brief review of historical sources is presented, followed by a discussion of the contemporary organizations, both international and national, active in the field. Emphasis is placed on the publishing programs and projects, maps, atlases, symposia, reports, and other literature sponsored or stimulated by these organizations. Regional bibliographical surveys for East Africa, India, and the Soviet Union are also noted. Pertinent aspects of bibliographies, indexes, abstracts, library card catalogs and accession lists, and other resources are listed, with emphasis on the various subject headings and other approaches to them. Throughout, the sources of information are approached from a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary viewpoint.     

A suggested approach to a library building program

The preliminary building program suggested in this paper makes use of outlines, graphs, charts, and lists, rather than long-winded paragraphs, to describe the needs, objectives, and philosophy of the library. It is hoped that a short, concise, but detailed, report using these methods will save time and make the report more attractive to read, thereby encouraging the many people who will need to assist in the building planning to use the report.     

Analysis of recorded biomedical book and journal use in the Yale Medical Library. II. Subject and user relations

Cancelled charge slips collected over a one-year period supply the data for this analysis of circulation in the Yale Medical Library. Full-time teaching faculty are the heaviest users of journal literature, and students, of monograph literature. Faculties of Medical School departments are compared in terms of their use of material in individual subjects. Subject literatures are analyzed in terms of groups of users borrowing from them. The extent to which journal titles used by medical students are also used by Medical School faculty is examined. One of the products of the study is a rank list of journal titles used in the Library. Results are presented in several tables.     

Using EPIC to search the OCLC Online Union Catalog in a health sciences library

EPIC is a service that provides keyword or subject access to the OCLC Online Union Catalog (OLUC). This capability increases the success rate for title location as well as the potential uses of the OLUC. The features of the EPIC system, application of these features to the OLUC, and specific uses in health sciences libraries are described in this article.     

Serials standards work: the next frontier

Serials, one of the more complicated areas of library technical endeavors, has lacked the benefit of standards for a long time. Even now, with standards beginning to be available, the majority of institutions are not working within standard serials formats. A survey to determine the use of serials standards in libraries was conducted in 1988 by the American Library Association, Resources and Technical Services Division, Serials Section, Committee to Study Serials Standards. In the spring of 1988 a survey was sent to a group encompassing the Association of Research Libraries members, CONSER participants, United States Newspaper Program participants, Microform Project libraries, and some vendors and librarians who attended the Committee meetings on a regular basis. The survey questionnaire assessed the current level of serials standards awareness of librarians and vendors. Topics included the type of serials systems used, standards relevant to serials control and union listing and whether or not they are implemented, types and levels of training staff received in the application of standards, benefits of the standards, and areas where standards are most needed.