Bradford's Law has been the subject of much discussion and analysis in library and information science since its formulation in the 1930s and remains frequently debated to this day. It has been applied to various practices within the discipline, especially with regard to collection development, but its relevance to researchers and the potential it…

This paper is concerned with the current state of academic research within the discipline of archive administration in the UK. It identifies and examines a number of reasons why research output from the UK is so low when compared with activity on an international basis. These reasons include the historic nature of archival education in the UK, the…

In contrast to the considerable coverage of research methods and report writing, relatively little attention has been given in the professional literature to the steps that should be taken and issues which may be borne in mind by a researcher seeking to have his or her work published. By addressing ten broad questions reflecting common concerns,…

Although qualitative methods have been employed for many years, there remain many unresolved issues for investigators wishing to undertake work of this type. This paper, aimed primarily at students and inexperienced researchers, considers some of the most pertinent of these matters and suggests responses that the investigator may make. Some of the…

One of the most fundamental tasks relating to the undertaking of fieldwork for a qualitative research study lies in "gaining access". This involves both securing entry into a particular organisation and ensuring that individuals associated with it, such as employees or users, will serve as informants. In terms of the first problem, a range of…

Description of undergraduate program at the School of Librarianship and Information Studies, Polytechnic of North London, focuses on course objectives, the teaching sequence, and conceptual relationships between the major curriculum elements. Problems of integrating diverse teaching approaches and of forming a taxonomy of objectives in…

Presents findings of a survey which gathered information on criteria applied by British employers in the library and information science sector when appointing staff and seeks to establish the relative importance of various educational qualifications and other characteristics such as personality, age, and work experience. The survey questionnaire…

Members of Special Libraries Association (SLA) were surveyed to determine whether they participated in continuing education activities, and, if so, the types of programs they preferred. It was found that they are active participants in continuing education programs, especially those dealing with online database searching and those sponsored by…

Traces historical developments and recent trends in library and information science research in United States, Great Britain, and India; discusses factors contributing to developments in United States and United Kingdom; and reviews Ranganathan's contributions in detail. Some factors hindering research in India and areas which require research are…

This study examined the relationship between scholarly publication by faculty teaching in library and information science programs and 18 selected variables. Six variables were found to be predictors of faculty productivity: highest degree earned, size of faculty, years elapsed from bachelors's to highest degree, program type, prestige of program,…

Describes the methodology of White's survey of the perceived quality of library education programs, and examines the validity of using the results to rank library schools. The correlation between perception rankings and number of graduates per school are presented and discussed as a possible biasing factor in White's results. (CLB)

Describes the use of ALSCAL, a computer program for multidimensional scaling, to map enrollment in 49 electives at Drexel University's College of Information Studies during two time periods. The results for this department are presented, and the explanatory power of this evaluation technique for any curriculum is discussed. (6 references) (CLB)

Investigates whether one teaching specialty in library science found to be gender-related by previous research was also a gender-related publication specialty. Analysis of data from a 15-year period from four cataloging journals indicates that the proportion of articles on cataloging written by women reflected their proportion in the teaching…

A study of the career plans of male and female graduate students in library science found that no sex differences existed in the students' level of career ambition or specificity, contrary to the results of prior research that included students from other fields. (CDD)

Results of examination of five directory issues of "Journal of Education for Librarianship" covering 18 years reveal strong support for gender-linked nature of teaching specialties within library science graduate programs. Differences are consistent with gender gap in career development and pattern of specialization among students in MLS programs.…