College and Research Libraries r-------------------- ----·- ---------------- - - 522 College & Research Libraries and there is no easily definable product to measure in an objective fashion. Although libraries are generally not re- quired to provide cost accountability or to justify the costs and benefits of providing services and materials, Roberts proposes that libraries, as closed systems, should be treated as normal corporate enterprises with respect to financial management and accounting. He recognizes the difficulty in attempting to fit the essence of profession- alism within constraints of cost account- ing, but he does provide a framework within which to evaluate operations and conduct fiscal planning. The language of this book has a definite accounting flavor, with jargon unfamiliar to most librarians; reading through will require some invest- ment of time and concentration. The glos- sary at the end is a needed and useful fea- ture, as are the copious footnotes and references for further reading. This volume naturally discusses library budgets, but it is not a book describing how libraries allocate funds. Neither is it a ''cookbook,'' offering several budget models from which library managers or budgeters may select. Rather, Roberts dis- cusses the factors upon which library cost management should be based. This logical and informed approach is not the method many libraries employ to make cost deci- sions. While detailed costs analysis would seem to be a profitable avenue to pursue, September 1986 it requires an expertise that may not be resident in most library staffs. There i1? a chasm between what this work suggests (management decisions based on formal cost studies of tasks, activities, and service levels) and what actually happens in many libraries or other public service agencies. Since most libraries do not have readily available even the grossest cost in- formation (What does it cost for an ILL transaction? What does it cost to catalog a volume?), the recommendations here for analyzing costs through rather sophisti- cated accounting techniques would be large steps indeed for a majority of li- braries. Moreover, if one considers that the es- sence of service to library clientele is not merely the hours of operation or the avail- ability of a book on the shelf, but also the degree of professional service a user re- ceives, then costing of library services be- comes even more difficult to quantify. All of this does not suggest that libraries could not profit from the type of cost manage- ment analysis and decision making sug- gested in this work. What it may suggest is that an accountant's approach to provid- ing library service may offer sound and pragmatic methods for decision making, even if that approach may not be used for all areas of library management and deci- sion making.-John Vasi, Library, Univer- sity of California, Santa Barbara. ABSTRACTS The following abstracts are based on those prepared by the ERIC Clearinghouse of Infor- mation Resources, School of Education, Syra- cuse University. Documents with an ED number here may be ordered in either microfiche (MF) or paper copy (PC) from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service, P.O. Box 190, Arlington, VA 22210. Orders should include ED number, specify for- mat desired, and include payment for docu- ment and postage. Further information on ordering documents and on current postage charges may be obtained from a recent issue of Resources in Educa- tion. Educating the Online Catalog User: A Model for Instructional Development and Evaluation. Final Report. Revised. By Brian Nielson and others. North- western University, Evanston, IL. 1985. 196p. ED 261679. MF-$0.75; PC-$14.40. This report describes efforts by three aca- demic libraries to develop a model instructional program for online catalog users that could be adopted in other academic libraries. A key com- ponent of the research included the exploration and development of a methodology for utiliz- ing online transaction logs to evaluate user per- formance . The four project objectives were to develop a model for online catalog instruction based on a set of systematic and generalizable instructional objectives; to implement an in- structional program based on the learning ob- jectives at Northwestern University; to evalu- ate the success of this program through a variety of evaluative techniques, including transaction analysis; and to assess the utility of transaction log analysis as a means for instruc- tional evaluation. The five-part report includes (1) a review of the project's objectives and some of the underlying issues that prompted this study in online catalog user education; (2) a de- scription of the establishment of learning objectives-the framework upon which the model program is based-as well as the model itself, and a review of the process for determin- ing generalizable objectives through collabora- tion among the three participating libraries; (3) a detailed description of the research design and evaluation methodology used in determin- ing the effects of an instruction program on the model as implemented at Northwestern Uni- versity; (4) the evaluation findings and princi- pal research outcomes of the project; and (5) the principal conclusions, some general observa- tions on the research process, and suggestions for further research . The instruments used to gather data on user performance are described and included. An extensive bibliography is among the ten appendixes included . Recent Publications 523 A Feasibility Study for the Development of Fee Based Services in Academic Li- braries: Report to the Vice President for Business and Finance, Memphis State University. By John E. Evans. Memphis State University, Tenn. 1984. 57p. ED 260 714. MF-$0.75;PC-$5.40. This study is designed to illuminate some of the issues, options, and activities related to de- veloping fee-based information services at a large academic library, and to suggest the feasi- bility of developing such services at Memphis State University libraries. The basis for the study is the realization that libraries, through automation, a changed philosophy about their role, and finance models, can possibly offer some solutions to the problems confronting them by extending and exploiting their infor- mation storage and retrieval and generalized information-handling talents . The study com- prises three sections: (1) a literature review de- signed to address the scope and range of cur- rent activities at other academic libraries; (2) a survey of representative libraries designed to elicit their descriptions and comments on fee- based services; and (3) a summary of conclu- sions, inferences, and remaining questions ap- propriate to the topic. Specific methodologies CONFIDENCE Are you missing the confidence that comes from being well-informed? Biological Abstracts® (BA) is BIOSIS' semi-monthly reference publication providing informative abstracts, in English, of current research from the biological and biomedical journal literature. It's an invaluable tool providing: • Comprehensive coverage of biological and biomedical literature in one source. • Monitoring over 9,000 serial and non-serial publications worldwide . • Approximately 235,000 items in 1986 , alone . • Four modes of access to the literature- Author, Biosystematic, Generic and Subject Indexes. • Cumulative Index available as a separate subscription item. Be confident- place your order for BA NOW . Contact BIOSIS Customer Services, 2100 Arch Street, Philadelphia, P A 19103-1399, USA or call (215) 587-4800 worldwide; toll free (800) 523-4806 (USA except AK, m, PA). Telex: 831739 . BIOSIS is a not-for-profit organization serving the biological community since 1926. Biological Abstracts is a registered trademark of BioSciences Information Service. CRL9861C 524 College & Research Libraries are discussed in the first and second sections. Appendixes include the survey instrument, the survey mailing list, and a bibliography. A Guidebook for Shelf Inventory Proce- dures in Academic Libraries. By Clifford H. Haka and Nancy Stevens. Occa- sional Paper Number 10. Assn. of Re- search Libraries, Washington, D.C. 1985 . 49p. ED 260 716. MF-$0.75;PC- Not available from EDRS. The increased demand for library materials resulting from improved bibliographic access due to automation, and auditors' demands for more accurate accounting of library assets/ holdings, have made it increasingly important that the discrepancy between the catalog and the materials in the stacks be reduced. This pa- per identifies many of the benefits associated with an extensive shelf inventory project in large academic and research libraries . It also de- scribes how to determine many of the associ- ated costs and provides a set of procedures with flowcharts. Topics covered include types of in- ventories; conducting a pilot inventory; con- ducting an inventory (developing inventory procedures, in-stack inventories, out-of stack · inventories, search procedures, and record- keeping and statistics); and concluding re- marks. Examples from an inventory conducted at the University of Kansas illustrate the proce- dures, and results of a survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions are cited. A selected bibliography concludes the paper. Information Technology R&D: Critical September 1986 Trends and Issues. Office of Technology Assessment, Congress of the U.S., Washington, D.C. 1985. 349p. ED 261 643. MF-$0.75;PC-$25.20. This Office of Technology Assessment report on the current state of research and develop- ment in the telecommunications industry in the United States examines four specific areas of re- search as case studies: computer architecture, artificial intelligence, fiber optics, and software engineering. It discusses the structure and ori- entation of some selected foreign programs as they challenge traditional U.S. market leader- ship in some areas of computers and communi- cations. Finally, it examines a set of issues that were raised in the course of the study: man- power, institutional change, the new research organizations that grew out of Bell Laborato- ries, and the implications of trends in overall science and technology policy. Following an implication and summary of the report, indi- vidual chapters address the following topics: (1) the environment for research and develop- ment in information technology in the United States; (2) selected case studies in information technology research and development; (3) ef- fects of deregulation and divesture on research; ( 4) education and human resources for research and development; (5) new roles for universities in information technology research and devel- opment; (6) foreign information technology re- search and development; (7) information tech- nology research and development in the context of U.S. science and technology policy; and (8) technology and industry. OTHER PUBLICATIONS Africa Index to Contin ental Periodical Literature. No .6. Ed . by Colin Darch and Alice Nkhoma- Wamunza. New York : Saur, 1985. 229p . $40 cloth . ISBN 3-598-21823-0. American Historians, 1866-1912 . Ed . byClydeN. Wilson . Dictionary of Literary Biography, V.47. Detroit: Gale, 1986. 442p . $88 cloth. LC 85-29245 . ISBN 0-8103~1725-7 . American Novelists. V.1. Ed . by James}. Martine . Detroit: Gale, 1986. 449p . $48 cloth. ISBN 0- 8103-2225-0. American Reference Books Annual. V .17. Ed . by Bohdan S. Wynar . Littleton, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1986. 772p. $70. cloth. ISBN 0- 87287-539-3. ARBA Guide to Biographical Dictionaries . Ed. by Bohdan S. Wynar. Littleton; Colo .: Libraries Unlimited, 1986. 467p. $60 cloth. LC 86-2851. ISBN 0-87287-492-3. Armenian American Almanac. Ed. by Hamo Vas- silian . Glendale, Calif.: Armenian Reference Books, 1986 . 315p . $24.95 paper. LC 84- 72326. ISBN 0-931539-14-5 . Bookman's Price Index. V.32. Ed. by Daniel F. McGrath. Detroit : Gale, 1986, 1,077p. $165 cloth . LC 64-8723 . ISBN 0-8103-0637-9. Bruno, Frank J. Dictionary of Key Words in Psy- chology. New York: Methuen, 1986. 286p. $32 .50 cloth . LC 85-2277. ISBN 0-7102-0190-7. Business Publications Index and Abstracts: Ab- stracts. 2v. Detroit: Gale, 1986. 1,275p. $285 cloth. LC 84-647955. ISBN 0-8103-1524-6 . Business Publications Index and Abstracts: Subject- Author Citations . 2v . Detroit: Gale, 1986. 1, 127p. $285 cloth. LC 84-647955. ISBN 0- 8103-1517-3 . Butler, David and Gareth Butler. British Political Facts 1900-1985. 6th ed. New York: St . Mar- tin's, 1986. 555p. $45 cloth . ISBN 0-312- 10467-7. Bynagle, Hans E. Philosophy: A Guide to Refer- ence Literature. Littleton, Colo. : Libraries Un- limited, 1986. 180p. $35 cloth. LC 86-2942. ISBN 0-87287-464-8. Carpenter, Charles A. Modern Drama Scholar- ship and Criticism 1966-1980: An International Bibliography. Buffalo, N .Y.: Univ. of Toronto Pr., 1986. 208p. $75 cloth. LC 85-099764-X. ISBN 0-8020-2549-8. Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Houghton Library, Harvard University. 8v. Alexandria, Va .: Chadwyck-Healey, 1986, 4,000p. $1,600 cloth. LC 85-29990. ISBN 0-89887-040-2. Children's Literature Review. V.10. Ed . by Gerald J. Senick . Detroit: Gale, 1986. 276p. $78 cloth. LC 75-34953. ISBN 0-8103-0342-6 . Collection Management for School Library Media Centers. Ed. by Brenda White . New York: Haworth, 1986. 383p. $39.95 cloth. LC 85- 21945. ISBN 0-86656-416-0. Also publ. as Col- lection Management, V.7, no.3/4, Fall 1985/Winter 1985-86. Compendium of Human Settlements Statistics. 4th issue. New York: United Nations, 1985 , 576p. $50 cloth. LC 84-40063. Contemporary Literary Criticism. V.37. Ed. by Autumn, 1986 Recent Publications 525 Daniel G. Markowski. Detroit: Gale, 19.86. 688p. $88 cloth. LC 76-38938. ISBN 0-8103- 4411-4. Contemporary Authors . V.17. Ed . by Linda Metzger and Deborah A. Straub. Detroit: Gale, 1986. · 500p. $88 cloth . LC 81-640179. ISBN 0-8103-1946-2. Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series . V.3. Ed . by Adele Sarkissian .. Detroit: Gale, 1986. 518p. $72 cloth . ISBN 0-8103-4502-1. Data Base Directory. Ed. by Katharyn Dunham. White Plains, N .Y.: Knowledge Industry, 1986. 777p. ISBN 0-86729-199-0. Dickinson, Donald C. Dictionary of American Book Collectors. Westport, Conn . : Green- wood, 1986. 399·p. $49.95 cloth. LC 85-5580. ISBN 0-313-22544-3. Directory of Grants in the Humanities. Phoenix, Ariz .: Oryx, 1986. 342p. $74.50 paper. LC 86- 2385. ISBN 0-89774-333-4. The Directory of Public Vocational Technicql Schools and Institutes in the U.S.A. 3d ed. Ed. by Marliss Johnston . Mankato, Minn.: Minne- sota Scholarly Pr., 1986. 357p . $65 cloth . ISBN 0-933474-40-7. Encyclopedia Iranica. V.1 . Ed. by E):lsan Iranica . New York: Methuen, 1986. 1,011p. $325 cloth. ISBN 0-7100-9099-4 . . United Nations Publications The World In Your Hands Directory of United Nations Databases and Infonnation Systems A repertoire of over 600 information databases in 36 UN affiliated organiza- tions. It enables one to see what infor- mation and services are available in the United Nations family as a whole and how to obtain detailed information from particular organizations. GV.E.84.0.5 (ISBN: 92-9048-295-8) $35.00 Transnation@l Corporations and International Trade: ~lected Issqes E.85.II.A.4 $11.00 Transnational Corporations in South Africa Transnational corporations' business Volume Jl· The Verbatim Records of policies in South Africa as they relate to the Hearings the issue of apartheid were examined at E.86.II.A.6789 (ISBN: 92-1-104l80-5) the United Nations during public hear- Sold only in the 4 yol!lme set (see below) . ings. A panel of political influentials Volume Ill: Statements and Submis- heard from more than 50 informed sions persons, examined documentation, and E.86.II.A.6789 (ISBN: 92-1-104181-3) made their recommendations. Sold only in the 4 volume set (see below) . Those recommendations, the verbatim transcripts of the hearings and other Volume IV: laws and Policies vital documentation is available in four E.86.II.A.6789 (I~BN : 92-1-104182-1) .volumes. $65 .00 Volume/: The Report and Recommen- Volumes I through IV, set of 1 specially dations of the Panel of Eminent Persons priced ,E.86.II.A.6789 (ISBN: 92-1-104179-1) E.86.II.A.6789 $200.00 $65.00 United" Nations Publications .t;.. ~ . · ~~ To order publications, by title and sales J{oom DC2~53 ~~ · ' 8~ number, con.tact your wholesaler Or New York, New Yorl< ~ . )fl qrder ~irect. F9r more infopnation 100J 7 ~ · 1J1 write "fQr our c.Qil}.plete 1986 catalog at II)' . ~ the addr~ on the pghl P~ais des N~tions ~bJishers ISBN prefix: