William C. Robinson

Evaluation of the government documents collection: An introduction and overview

Abstract Commonly used techniques of evaluating library collections are identified, considered, and related to the government publication collection. The environment of collection evaluation is considered. The major techniques used to evaluate collection adequacy include: reference queries, circulation queries, questionnaires administered to library users, size of collection, list checking, consultation with subject specialists, and observation. The need for continuous evaluation is emphasized as is evaluation which will be used to improve the ability of the collection to meet local needs.

Literature Use by U.S. Economists Published in 1999

Abstract The sample consisted of 1,759 references found in 78 research articles from the 1999 volumes of the Journal of Economic Perspectives, the Journal of Political Economy, and The Quarterly Journal of Economics. The median article was written by two authors, was 27 pages long and contained 30 citations. Scholarly journals accounted for 58 percent (median) of the items used, with monographs (15 percent), and working papers (14 percent) being the other major formats. Periodical and book publishers accounted for about 76 percent of the citations with research institutes and organizations (12 percent) following in importance. Government documents and publications represented about 3 percent (median) of the citations. Nearly 60 percent (median) of the citations were published within the last ten years, but the range was 208 years from the publication date of the earliest cited item to the publication date of the latest cited item. The median oldest year cited in an article was 1965 with a mean of 1952.

Time lag in the 1972 monthly catalog of United States government publications

Abstract A random sample of 588 entries from the 1972 Monthly Catalog was examined to determine time lag between publication date and appearance in the index. The mean time lag was 4.7 months with a range of 1 to 27 months. Publications issued by independent agencies had a time lag of 4.0 months while those from the legislative and executive were 4.2 and 5.2 months. Publications received on deposit had a time lag of 4.1 months while non-depository items had a time lag of 5.8 months. For office use only publications had a time lag of 8.0 months. It was hypothesized that time lag was a function of issuing agency, depository status, whether the item was intended for official use only and whether the item was sold by the Superintendent of Documents. Significant but low relationships were found between time lag and issuing agency, for sale by SuDocs, and depository status. A significant and moderate relationship was found between time lag and official use status.

The impact of the reduction in federal government statistical publications and services on state Government statistical agencies

Abstract The U.S. Federal Government, in an attempt to reduce governmental expenditures, has reduced the budgets of its statistical agencies. New initiatives aimed at reducing the federal deficit may further decrease money available for federal statistical services. Although the General Accounting Office has concluded that the work of these statistical agencies has not been substantially affected, some legislators, researchers, and citizens feel that cuts have resulted in the loss of needed information. This study attempts to determine the impact these reductions have had on state agencies and their services. A mail survey was sent to state statistical agencies to determine how the cuts have affected their services. Seventy-five percent of the agencies indicated that the federal reductions have affected their services, and 90% of the agencies have indicated that they will be unable to compensate if federal statistical services are reduced substantially. According to these findings, the nation could be adversely affected as statistical coordination decays and fewer statistics are available for the data needs of a growing and more complex society.

Literature Use by Geography Scholars

Abstract This study examines and describes citation patterns for 1,555 references from the 2000 issues of the Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Applied Geography, Cartographic Journal, Economic Geography, and Geographical Analysis. Generalizable relationships exist between periodical title and citation attributes, including publication place, format, subject, age, and availability seen in WorldCat holdings. Academic geographers who publish in different scholarly periodicals have distinctive literature use patterns that may impact collection development and management, as well as user services.

Price of materials and collection development in larger public libraries

Questionnaires were sent to public library systems in the 200 largest cities in the United States to learn more about the role of price in the selection of materials. A 34 percent response rate yielded 67 usable responses. When ranked on a scale from 1 to 7, with 7 being least important, list price had a median ranking of 5, while likely community demand was ranked 1. When faced with price increases, these collection developers tended to select fewer duplicates, fewer periodical and annual publications, and fewer nonbook items. About 26 percent of those responding had adopted an informal or formal price ceiling for selections. About 66 percent of these librarians were likely be more price conscious when selecting nonbook items. Price ceilings for categories and formats are discussed.

Evaluation of the government documents collection: A step-by-step process

Abstract In an earlier article, I identified, considered, and related commonly used techniques of evaluating library collections to the government publication collection. Here, a model or step-by-step process is developed to illustrate how the several techniques might be used in relation to each other. Thus, this article is a specific response to the government documents librarian who wants to know what to do first, second, third, etc., in evaluating the documents collection.