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Biomedical subjects

R H Orr

Publications and source records attributed to R H Orr.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1972

Document delivery capabilities of major biomedical libraries in 1968: results of a national survey employing standardized tests.

The standardized Document Delivery Tests (DDT's) developed earlier (Bulletin 56: 241-267, July 1968) were employed to assess the capability of ninety-two medical school libraries for meeting the document needs of biomedical researchers, and the capability of fifteen major resource libraries for filling I-L requests from biomedical libraries. The primary test data are summarized as statistics on the observed availability status of the 300 plus documents in the test samples, and as measures expressing capability as a function of the mean time that would be required for users to obtain test sample documents. A mathematical model is developed in which the virtual capability of a library, as seen by its users, equals the algebraic sum of the basic capability afforded by its holdings; the combined losses attributable to use of its collection, processing, relative inacessibility, and housekeeping problems; and the gain realized by coupling with other resources (I-L borrowing). For a particular library, or group of libraries, empirical values for each of these variables can be calculated easily from the capability measures and the status statistics. Regression equations are derived that provide useful predictions of basic capability from collection size. The most important result of this work is that cost-effectiveness analyses can now be used as practical decision aids in managing a basic library service. A program of periodic surveys and further development of DDT's is recommended as appropriate for the Medical Library Association.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed1970

Development of methodologic tools for planning and managing library services. IV. Bibliography of studies selected for methods and data useful to biomedical libraries.

This selective bibliography is intended to serve as a guide to empirical studies reporting data and methods that can be used by medical librarians to assess their own efforts objectively and to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services they offer. The decision rules that governed selection of items for the bibliography are specified in detail. A total of 178 items published between 1915 and mid-1968 met the selection criteria. The list of items is supplemented by a keyword index derived from titles. Half the items are journal articles; a third of these articles appeared in the Bulletin, and most of the remainder in thirteen other library and information science journals. Most of the non-journal items are technical reports issued by the organization that conducted or sponsored the work. The characteristics of this literature suggest that few medical libraries, unless they are part of a university system that includes the collection of a library or information science school, are likely to have quick access to the literature base needed to support a comprehensive program of self-evaluation studies and the continuing education of their own staff. Regional medical libraries might well undertake to ensure both ready access to, and awareness of, literature on the scientific aspects of librarianship.

Bibliographies as Topic↗
PubMed1970

User services offered by medical school libraries in 1968: results of a national survey employing new methodology.

The breadth and depth of services that ninety-two medical school libraries offer to individual users were ascertained by interviewing the heads of these libraries, employing a standardized inventory procedure developed earlier (Bulletin 56:380-403, Oct. 1968). Selected aspects of the descriptive data obtained on services to faculty and to medical students are presented and commented upon. Comparisons with the findings of earlier surveys suggest that increases in the staffs and budgets of medical school libraries over the past two decades have gone largely to supporting a rapidly increasing volume of service, rather than to any striking increase in the breadth and depth of services. To facilitate summarization and comparisions among libraries the descriptive data were weighted and converted to quantitative measures; the weighting scheme was established by a group of five academic medical librarians to reflect the relative values the group assigned to different services. One of these quantitative measures, the percentage score for overall services relative to the optimal library, summarizes a library's services in a single figure. On this measure, medical school libraries ranged from 38 percent to 87 percent; the median overall score was 63 percent. Results of some exploratory analyses are described; these analyses attempted to find explanations for the observed differences among libraries and among geographical regions on the quantitative measures. Present and potential uses of the survey data for managerial and research purposes are discussed. One of the most important of these uses is in establishing and implementing standards-activities which should be carried out by the library profession itself-and recommendations are made for a program of such activities that is appropriate for the Medical Library Association.

Libraries, Medical↗
PubMed1969

Summary report of a study of academic medical library statistics.

Common statistical analyses were applied to the statistics on medical school libraries published in 1964 and 1966 in the Bulletin to assess the potential utility of such survey data. The major conclusions of the study are that these statistics (1) are highly redundant; (2) are essentially descriptive and not amenable to analysis for predictive purposes; (3) are of questionable reliability; (4) are of minimal utility for library investigators and managers, and of doubtful value for establishing standards. The authors believe that, rather than continuing to collect similar statistics in the future, we need a systematic program to define specific requirements of data use and to design survey methods that will produce data meeting these requirements.

Libraries, Medical↗
PubMed1968

Development of methodologic tools for planning and managing library services. I. Project goals and approach.

In July 1966, the Institute for Advancement of Medical Communication began work on a project aimed at developing methods for collecting objective data suitable for planning and guiding local, regional, and national programs to improve biomedical libraries and the biomedical information complex. This article constitutes an introduction to a series of reports on the methodologic tools that have been developed. It describes the overall purpose and initial goals of the project, gives the general plan of the work, and presents five basic concepts that underlie the project's approach and structure the entire effort.

Information Services↗
PubMed1968

Development of methodologic tools for planning and managing library services. II. Measuring a library's capability for providing documents.

A method of measuring a library's capability for providing the documents its users need has been developed. The library is tested with a representative sample of such documents to determine how long would be required for users to obtain these documents. Test results are expressed in terms of a Capability Index, which has a maximal value of 100 only if all the sample documents are found "on shelf." Specific tests employing samples of 300 documents have been developed that are appropriate for academic and for "reservoir" biomedical libraries. Realistic field trials have demonstrated that these two tests are practical to administer and that test results are adequately reproducible. When strict comparability is not important, a library can test itself. In assessing a reservoir library, test results are supplemented by data on its typical processing time for interlibrary loan requests. Currently these tests are being used in a national survey. The general method is applicable to other types of libraries, provided appropriate test samples are established. If their limitations are clearly understood, these "Document Delivery Tests" can be valuable tools for planning and managing library services.

Information Services↗
PubMed1968

Developing of methodologic tools for planning and managing library services: 3. Standardized inventories of library services.

A standardized procedure was developed for eliciting those details of a library's service policies that are important to its users and for recording the data by checking appropriate categories on a form. This inventory procedure covers the entire spectrum of user services and accommodates a wide range of policies. The inventory was originally designed for use by trained interviewers in largescale surveys of academic medical libraries. However, it is also suitable for other kinds of libraries, and the Interview Guide and Checklist can be used for a self-survey by library staff. In addition to survey use, the inventory has a variety of educational, administrative, managerial, and research applications. A method for weighting the categorical inventory data to reflect the relative desirability of different policies makes it possible to calculate scores indicating how a library's policies compare with those of an "optimal" library. An analogous inventory of the services a library provides to other libraries was developed for surveying major backup resources in the medical library system.

Consumer Behavior↗