As outsourcing becomes more commonplace in libraries, the need for a authoritative guide becomes indisputable. This book, designed to give librarians a broad understanding of outsourcing issues in academic libraries, synthesizes prevailing theories on the topic and describes current outsourcing practices in all areas of librarianship. After a historical overview and a detailed analysis of the pros and cons of outsourcing, the authors outline the steps for planning and implementing a successful outsourcing program. Individual chapters cover collection development, acquisitions and serials management, cataloging, retrospective conversion, authority control, preservation, and public services and systems. A special feature of the book is a detailed survey of more than 200 academic research libraries and other academic libraries about outsourcing practices.

Library binding is one of the activities typically included in newly created preservation departments, but librarians continue to discover that transforming a traditional binding program into one that better meets preservation objectives requires considerable investment of time. This resource guide is intended to help libraries review their binding activities from a preservation perspective through the following: (1) suggesting a strategy for gaining expertise through reading and observation; (2) outlining a plan for evaluating the library's and the binder's practices and policies; (3) presenting a strategy for initiating change; and (4) identifying issues that merit attention and discussion. Thirty-six articles dealing with a binding program and relations with a binder are presented. A bibliography lists an additional 18 sources for further reading. (SLD)

The quality of doctoral-level biochemistry (N=139), botany (N=83), cellular/molecular biology (N=89), microbiology (N=134), physiology (N=101), and zoology (N=70) programs at United States universities was assessed, using 16 measures. These measures focused on variables related to: (1) program size; (2) characteristics of graduates; (3) reputational factors (scholarly quality of faculty, effectiveness of programs in educating research scholars/scientists, improvement in program quality during the last 5 years); (4) university library size; (5) research support; and (6) publication records. Chapter I discusses prior attempts to assess quality in graduate education, development of the study plans, and the selection of disciplines and programs to be evaluated. Chapter II discusses the methodology used, focusing on each of the assessment measures. Chapters III to VIII present, respectively, findings from the analyses of the biochemistry, botany, cellular/molecular biology, microbiology, physiology, and zoology programs. Chapter IX includes a summary of results, correlations among measures, several additional analyses, and suggestions for future studies. Among the findings reported are those indicating that cellular/molecular biology programs had, on the average, the largest number of faculty and that students in cellular/molecular biology, biology, biochemistry, microbiology, and physiology received a relatively high fraction of financial support. (Survey instruments and supporting documentation are included in appendices.) (JN)