**Apologies for cross-posting**
Five new reports based on research funded by the Research and
Innovation Centre are now available. Further details, including
ordering information, are available from the Centre's web pages:
www.bl.uk/services/ric/.
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New measures for the new library: a social audit of public libraries
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This report demonstrates the social impact of the public library.
Documenting the experience of library users, staff, and local
politicians it shows that public library services promote social
cohesion and create confidence in individuals and communities. Public
libraries are community landmarks that reinforce community identity.
They also help individuals, especially older people, overcome the
problems of social isolation and loneliness. The recognised and
established functions of the public library in terms of reading,
education, information, culture and leisure also remain important. The
report argues that qualitative data, properly gathered, are valid
evidence and should be used as such by politicians and professionals.
The report provides policy makers, practitioners and academics with a
framework for understanding the social impact of the library. This can
be used as a practical tool by library managers to identify the
factors that can help and hinder the achievement of social objectives.
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Electronic serials in public libraries
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This project investigated the impact of electronic serials on UK
public libraries. The current provision and promotion of electronic
serials is described and it is noted that the majority of those
provided were newspapers in CD-ROM format; very few authorities had
taken out a subscription to an Internet-based serial. The benefits and
pitfalls presented by electronic serials and the main management
issues are also explored. It was found that there was a lack of policy
documents relating to electronic serials and that staff are facing
serious problems supporting electronic resources (it was noted that
the lower levels of ICT training and awareness in branch libraries was
a particular problem). The research has also shown that most public
libraries are not measuring the use of electronic serials; anecdotal
evidence suggests that, while use of serials on CD-ROM is healthy,
usage levels of Internet-based serials are very modest. The report
also proposes performance indicators which may be applied to
electronic serials. The main conclusions of the research are that
there will be benefits for library users if libraries are able to
extend their collections of serials on CD-ROM and, most importantly,
if they begin to provide co-ordinated access to Internet content,
including serials.
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Academic library effectiveness
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The remit of this investigation was to develop a small set of
performance indicators which would enable funding bodies,
vice-chancellors and other senior university managers to compare
library effectiveness across the UK higher education sector. The
report recommends a small set of management statistics (as opposed to
performance indicators) covering per capita expenditures, seat
hours per week per user, lending and user education data. The report
also recommends the provision of "contextual" data largely on the size
of the institution to facilitate interpretation of the management
statistics. Recommendations for further work on the electronic
library, benchmarking, user satisfaction, document availability,
information services, user education, impact, in-house use and access
vs holding are also included.
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Libraries in the workplace
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This report presents the findings of the first major questionnaire
survey of library and information services in the UK workplace.
Included are government organisations, professional associations and
charities, and the corporate sectors of pharmaceutics, finance,
energy, management consultancy and law. There are data on the
organisations and their users, staffing, electronic and printed
resources, interlending, performance and expenditure. Sectoral
estimates are included for key data.
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Information policy in the electronic age
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This book brings together many of the papers presented at the
Information Policy Briefing Lectures, organised by the Research and
Innovation Centre. The briefings illuminate current detailed research
into the dynamic world of information policy and are designed to help
policy makers in both national and local governments as well as in the
information industry. The contributions cover a diverse range of
issues including: the US national information infrastructure, current
UK and EU policy issues, information reliability, and the public
library in the next century.
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Simon Matty
Information Officer
Research and Innovation Centre
The British Library
2 Sheraton Street
London W1V 4BH
tel: 0171 412 7054
fax: 0171 412 7251
email: [log in to unmask]
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