ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries Ju n e 1988 / 375 Survey of a ca d e m ic science/ technology lib raries By Em erson Hilker C h a ir, ST S C o m m ittee on C om parison o f S cien ce a n d T ech n o lo gy L ibraries Measuring science library structure, services and salaries. T h e C om m ittee on C om parison of Science and T ech n ology L ib ra rie s, a standing co m m ittee of A C R L ’s Science and Technology Section, has un­ dertaken an organizational and statistical survey of n e a rly 1 5 0 scien ce and te ch n o lo g y lib raries in N orth A m erica. The co m m ittee’s charge is to col­ lect, analyze, and distribute co m p arative d a ta on the organization and operations of this type of li­ brary. Questionnaires requesting d ata for F Y 1 9 8 6 / 8 7 w ere first distributed in the fall of 1987. Statistics on the following operations w ere requested: physi­ cal stru ctu re , ad m in istratio n , clien tele, co lle c­ tions, expenditures, personnel, building use, ser­ v ic e h o u r s , c i r c u l a t i o n , i n t e r l i b r a r y l o a n , reference, lib rary instruction, online searching, la- serdisk products, service fees, penalty fees, and sal­ aries. T he surveys w ere distributed in the fall of 1 9 8 7 ; the results will be organized com paratively both by type of lib rary and by catego ry of operation and will be distributed widely. If interest in p articip a­ tion and results is sustained, the survey will be co n ­ ducted biannually. T h e com m ittee is handling the distribution of the surveys on a regional basis. As of M ay 1 ‚ 1 9 8 8 , eighty-tw o libraries have sub­ m itted com pleted surveys. Since a num ber of insti­ tutions have expressed the need for additional tim e to collect d a ta , the deadline for submission has been extended to July 1, 1988. This will give co m ­ m ittee m em bers enough tim e to include the infor­ m ation in the com posite report for A LA Annual C onference in New Orleans. Anyone wishing to p articip ate in these deliberations should feel free to attend our com m ittee m eeting (M onday, July 11, 2 :0 0 - 4 :0 0 p .m .). At th a t tim e, methods for collect­ ing and displaying the d ata will be discussed and the plan devised to achieve publication som etim e during the latter half of 1988. T he C om m ittee on Com parison of Science and Technology Libraries is an outgrow th of a Task F o rc e organized in 1985 w ith th at express purpose in m ind. T hree heads of A R L science/engineering libraries m et inform ally a t the A L A M idw inter M eeting th at year to ponder the feasibility of a col­ lection m echanism . T he results would be a useful tool in policy and decision-making, and the process m ight fa cilita te co m m u n icatio n and en co u rag e s ta n d a r d iz a tio n a m o n g s c ie n c e /te c h n o lo g y li­ b raries. T h e th ree lib rarian s discussed th e idea w ith the STS Executive C o m m ittee, received their endorsem ent and proceeded to design a survey in­ strum ent. T o avoid fram in g a survey from s c ra tc h , the Task F o rc e adopted and revised the form ulation used for the A n n u a l Statistics o f M ed ica l School L i ­ braries in the U nited States a n d C a n a d a . T o scale down the complexities of collecting d ata from a large num ber of libraries, in m any cases organ iza­ tionally dissimilar, the Task F o rc e agreed to solicit d a ta only from stand-alone science/engineering li­ braries at the A R L level. Though 4 0 institutions w ere co n tacted to determ ine their willingness to p articip ate, only 24 w ere able to com plete the sur­ 376 / C &RL News vey, Many of the non-participants, though inter­ ested, were not able to respond at the time for a va­ riety of reasons, Data from respondents had been organized into comparative tables and distributed to the cooperating institutions. Others who may be interested will find the tables in the Fall 1987 issue of Science and Technology Libraries. The first edition is admittedly incomplete. Only a subset of academic science and technology li­ braries is included. Furthermore, a number of li­ braries could not answer all of the questions, espe­ c ia lly those req u irin g a d etailed analysis of operations, e.g., collection development. Future editions will expand both in library coverage and detail as procedures to collect data improve and more institutions are contacted and response in­ creases. The first edition provides com parative data from 24 ARL institutions for the academic year 1984/85. The statistics are gathered together in 16 tables encompassing the physical characteristics, organization, and operations of the reporting li­ braries. Each institution’s sci/tech facility is de­ scribed in terms of size, seating capacity and num­ ber of study rooms, with separate data for branch libraries. The organization of basic library func­ tions as either centralized or local operations is in­ dicated and further described as automated or manual. The patron profile is disclosed for each in­ stitution in terms of discipline represented, sepa­ rate totals for faculty, graduates, and undergradu­ ates. Statistics on total number of physical volumes in each library are sorted by print, microform and au­ diovisual formats, while serial data on number of current subscriptions and a total number that in­ International development Planning is underway for the Second Na­ tional Conference on Librarians and Interna­ tional Development to be held at Indiana Uni­ v ersity , R loo m in g ton , M ay 7 - 9 , 1989. Individuals or organizations involved in the de­ velopment of libraries outside the United States are invited to submit abstracts for papers or in­ quiries to the address below by July 15, 1988. Topics being considered include: library devel­ opment as part of a comprehensive develop­ ment programs; the rationale and philosophy behind library development outside the United States; and specific library development proj­ ects. Submit abstracts and address inquiries to ei­ ther of the conference co-chairs: Carolyn A. Snyder, Associate Dean for Public Services, In ­ diana University Libraries, Rloomington, IN 47405; or Larry W . Griffin, Director of L i­ brary Services, Indiana University-Purdue University, 2101 Coliseum Roulevard East, Fort Wayne, IN 46805. cludes cessations. Annual expenditures for each in­ stitution are categorized according to totals for ma­ teria ls, binding, salaries, sta ff developm ent, utilities, and miscellaneous. Additional tables carry breakdowns for acquisitions by subject disci­ pline, and staffing levels are summarized accord­ ing to professional, support, and part-time classes. Each library records total attendance for the year and weekly aggregate hours for library access and reference service. Circulation periods are repre­ sented by patron and material type. An analysis of collection use follows, including figures for interli­ brary transactions. Professional services to patrons can be statisti­ cally studied, as each institution provides figures for reference inquiries, library instruction, and database searches. Online searching is further ana­ lyzed with counts provided by type of search. Fees charged for self-service and mediated copying, database searching, and extended reference service are detailed for each library. Finally, comparative tables denote overdue fees assessed by each institution for various types of ma­ terial and class of patron. The salary survey was condensed into one table listing the highest, lowest, midpoint and average salary for professional staff in the libraries as a whole. For the second edition the Committee has ex­ panded the public services section by requesting that libraries report the extent to which they utilize laserdisk products and computer tape services. Each library may specify which systems are in cur­ rent use or on order as well as counts for number of searches run. Other sections of the survey have been refined, reflecting the Committee’s experi­ ence with the first edition. The criteria that determined which institutions were to be included in the survey were not meant to be ultimately restrictive. If any academic institu­ tion wishes to participate at this time, contact Emerson Hilker, Head, Physical Sciences and E n ­ gineering Division, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078-0375; (405) 624-6305. Consultant list Consultants who may wish to be included in a library management consultant list to be pub­ lished by ALA’s Library and Administration Management Association can request an appli­ cation form and guidelines from Robert F. Moran J r ., Library, Indiana University North­ west, Gary, IN 46408. Experienced library consultants in the areas of automation, finance, governance, organiza­ tion, organizational development, planning, and risk management will be listed. Comple­ tion of five library consulting projects in one or more of these areas is required.