Past studies of performance indicators for libraries have concentrated on theoreti cal considerations at the expense of prac tical measures applicable without undue effort in normal working situations. Many indicators advocated are highly valid but are too expensive in relation to their util ity. Libraries in some countries have tried to agree a total set of indicators before starting to apply any of them, while many individual libraries have instituted their own measures, which are unlikely to be totally consistent with those used by other libraries. A pilot project, conducted at the Copenhagen Business School Library, Denmark (CBS) aimed to approach the matter empirically, starting with a set of measures, testing them in one or more libraries, and then seeking agreement between libraries of the same type, in order to establish a standard set of mea sures that may be applied throughout the country. The pilot evaluation tested most of the proposed indicators satisfactorily; indicated those that were most promising; and confirmed many of the suspected strengths and weaknesses of the CBS Library, but putting them on a firmer quantitative footing. The study also pro duced unexpected findings and pointed to remedial action needing to be taken at once. A full report of the evaluation has been issued separately in Danish and English versions (Copenhagen Business School Library, 1992).

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THE IDEAL MODELAs we all know, libraries are these years rapidly undergoing change on unparalleled scale. Evidently, this applies to librarians, too, and not the least to that important category of library staff, the subject specialist. As recruiting and education of library workers differ from country to country it is difficult to give a detailed, generally valid description of the subject librarian in libraries, but I believe that you can describe an ideal model of subject librarianship as follows:Within each of the major subject disciplines covered by the library, the library should have a subject specialist preferably with a master degree or at least a bachelor degree in the particular subject discipline. The role of the subject specialist is to perform four basic functions where extensive subject knowledge is considered to be necessary: selecting and classifying books, assisting users with advanced subject inquiries, giving subject-specific courses in information retrieval, and maintaining liaison with relevant academic departments and centres.Personally, I know this system very well since I got employment in the Royal Library in Copenhagen as a subject specialist in psychology in the very month I finished my degree in psychology from the University of Copenhagen, back in 1973. The subject librarian system at the Royal Library in Copenhagen was patterned on the ideal model, as I just described it, and it was closely paralleled in the other academic libraries in Denmark, also the new university libraries which were founded in the seventies. PROBLEMS OF THE IDEAL MODELDuring my career I have seen a number of cases where the ideal model functioned very well, due to the dedication and skills of individual subject specialists. Today, however, the ideal model has a number of problems. The financial problemThe first and basic problem is -as usual -financial. The Copenhagen University Library together with the National Library comprises the Royal Library in Copenhagen. It covers all scholarly disciplines within the humanities, social science, theology, law, natural science, medicine and dentistry, agriculture and pharmaceutical science. The ideal model would require that we should employ at least fifty university graduates with master degrees in the various subject fields covered by the university. This is definitely not possible. That staff category is the best salaried in the library, and we simply cannot afford fifty or more staff members in that category.The financial problem was always there, and in fact the library had to make many compromises with the ideal model in the sense that people were asked to function as subject specialists in areas in which they had no university education. Such arrangements have actually functioned very well, but because of the persistence of the ideal model as a mental norm, they are looked upon as improper arrangements, especially by proper subject specialists: "proper" subject specialists feel that their primary function as well as the quality of library services is devalued by...

Artiklen undersøger udviklingstendenserne hen imod digitale dokumenter, herunder såvel tendenserne i forlagenes udbud som i bibliotekernes anskaffelser og i brugernes benyttelse. Vurderingen er at Københavns Universitetsbibliotek inden for 5 år stort set vil være ophørt med at købe trykte tidsskrifter, at det inden for 20 år er ophørt med at købe trykte bøger og at hele den eksisterende trykte litteratur i samlingerne være erstattet af digitale udgaver inden for 30 år. Brugerne finder information på mange måder, og bibliotekets katalog og hjemmeside er ikke deres primære søgeredskab. Forskningsbibliotekerne konkurrerer både med de specialiserede bibliografiske systemer og med de generelle søgemaskiner, og synes at være ved at tabe kampen. Artiklen diskutere i dette perspektiv hvilke mulige funktioner forskningsbibliotekerne kan varetage, herunder udvikling af søgesystemer, etablering af studiemiljø, personlig service og bruger-undervisning, forskningsregistrering, etablering af repositories, dataforvaltning og digitalisering af universiteters informationsressourcer. Hvis det lykkes bibliotekerne at hage sig fast til formidlingen af digitale videnressourcer til universitetet kan de overleve som institution. Hvis ikke forsvinder en værdifuld institution, der har tjent civilisationen vel i århundreder, men hvis tid er omme, fordi andre løsninger tjener en ny tid bedre.

The article describes the institutional relationship between the national library and the metropolitan university library in the Nordic countries. This tends to follow one of two models: separation in the sense that the two institutions were always separate or became separated by governmental decree, or integration in the sense that they were always integrated or became integrated in the same way. The situation is illustrated by reference to Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Since there does not appear to be a common pattern of development in these countries, it is concluded that specific historical circumstances have determined these relationships. However, certain factors such as size, location and organizational complexity have had a clear influence, and the impact of the digital age is beginning to be felt on existing institutional structures.