After several weeding excursions into the reference collection at the University of Toledo's Carlson Library, reference librarians realized that the collection had outgrown not only the available shelving space, but possibly also its usefulness to patrons. With the approval plan acquisitions and purchase requests coming from all academic areas on campus, including the library, materials were constantly added to the 30,000+ volume collection. We were experiencing "crisis weeding" (Engeldinger, 1990) where the subject areas with high-use items were weeded and subject areas with less perceived use were left undisturbed. Unfortunately, there was nothing but anecdotal evidence on whether those materials were needed and used by our clientele. In addition, the collection development policy for the reference collection seemed vague and passé. In 1994, the reference staff decided to gather information systematically on the use and the users of the reference collection, with the goal in mind to formulate a viable collection management policy.
Higher education will benefit from the adoption and implementation of affordable academic tephnologies. This benefit, however, will be realized only if academics are placed at the forefront of technology development, ensuring that emerging technologies meet the specific needs of higher education. John Oberlin1 This article examines the University of Toledo Carlson Library's cooperative effort with IBM personnel in attempting to design a new and cost-effective method for networking CD-ROM databases. It outlines how the development effort was conceived and executed, and presents recommendations on how such ventures can be effectively carried out in the future. Reiman is coordinator of Library Automation and Sendi is head of Reference Services at the University of Toledo. This article examines the University of Toledo Carlson Library's cooperative effort with IBM person¬ nel in attempting to design a new and cost-effective method for networking CD-ROM databases. It will outline how the development effort was conceived and
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