The Australian Library Journal
volume 46 issue 4
[editorial] John Levett
Investing for a future: client-focussed Australian academic libraries in the 1990s
Alan Bundy
Like other types of libraries, Australia's university libraries have developed within only a few years a sophisticated approach to strategic planning and client-focussed performance and its measurement, often ahead of their institutions. Advantage of this
must now be taken through image development to ensure there is recognition by their communities that they are worthy of greater institutional investment. This is an update of a chapter which appeared in Providing customer-oriented services in academic
libraries edited by C Pinder and published by The Library Association in 1996.
Manuscript received August 1997
Bringing the services together: how partnerships add value for the client
Carolyn Cherrett
...partnering is a process, not an event, a journey, not a destination. This statement is as true of partnership arrangements between supplier and library as it is for partnerships between library and library or library and client. We must always
keep the goal in sight and remember what we set out to achieve.
Manuscript received September 1997
Not an inexhaustible resource: valuation and depreciation of library collections in the Queensland Department of Education
Jennifer Cram
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the valuation of library collections is not an issue which is being addressed by library managers, despite the growing popularity of accrual accounting in publicly funded institutions. The implications of asset valuation
are discussed. The experience of developing and implementing a methodology for valuing the numerous library collections of the Queensland Department of Education is described.
Manuscript received December 1996
Pricing the invaluable: putting a value on information in the corporate context
Kym Diprose
For practitioners working in information resource centres in corporate environments, the provision of measures related to the value of the information they provide is generally perceived as a difficult and irksome task. There are difficulties reconciling
the gaps that exist between the true cost of providing information and user judgements as to its value. There is no method by which information use can easily be traced to cost-effectiveness or other primary outcomes. And traditional methods of statistical
process reporting seem to have little relevance to the types of figures desired by today's financial managers.
Manuscript received August 1997 - This is a refereed article
Time capsules or time machines? Challenges for public library buildings
David J Jones
Describes contemporary influences on public library planning and design, including the impact of Information Technology (IT), community attitudes and expectations; identifies IT-related activities which generate demand for space, as well as community
activities which enable public libraries to become the hub of their communities; and outlines key considerations for successful, adaptable public library buildings, including location, identity, symbolism, the look and 'feel' of the building,
accessibility, size, flexibility, efficiency, organisation, functionality, environmental conditions, security, and running costs.
Manuscript received August 1997 - This is a refereed article
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander material at the John Oxley Library: collection development and access
Brian Randall
The author briefly reviews policy initiatives aimed at clarifying questions of access to indigenous materials in the John Oxley Library at the State Library of Queensland.
Manuscript received November 1996
Virtual university libraries: a report of ALIA's 1996 study grant
Margaret Small
The role which libraries can and should play in virtual universities is unclear, with several different models emerging. A danger exists that virtual universities will expect students to rely on electronic resources available through the Internet and on
material delivered to students to meet their information needs. Librarians must meet this challenge by reinventing their libraries as efficient and relevant information services and their role as information providers.
Manuscript received August 1997
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