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This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit presents the results of a survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries designed to document how ARL member libraries are collecting, using, and modifying their data on reference service transactions. A total of 74 of 124 ARL member libraries responded to the survey. A copy of the questionnaire with tabulated results is presented. Representative documents include: (1) reference desk activity logs from 12 libraries; (2) other reference activity logs from seven libraries; (3) definitions/guidelines/procedures from 12 libraries; (4) statistical reports from nine libraries; and (5) other reference assessment methods from four libraries. A list of 24 selected resources (i.e., books, journal articles, and Web sites) is included. (MES)

Three years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall. In that brief span of time, telecommunications facilities and services of all types have sprouted and some have even […]

Abstract:"Bricks without straw" is an expression that means to make do with insufficient resources. It is also an apt description of the challenges facing the Chicago Public Library during the early years of the Depression. The library was forced to limp along with a fraction of its normal funding. This article explores how the library coped with such difficult financial circumstances and how, in some ways, it ultimately emerged as an innovative, community-oriented institution.