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The purpose of this paper is to extend the principles of earlier print-based availability surveys to the context of today’s electronic library, and explores the question of an appropriate methodology. The ability of clients to find what they want remains a central question, as does the library’s ability to identify and address the reasons that clients fail to find what they are looking for.

Catalogue users at Curtin University Library were invited to complete an online survey indicating whether they had found the electronic item they were looking for, and if not to nominate the reason why. Responses were then verified and analysed by library staff.

The survey attracted a low number of usable responses, though the proportion of respondents who stated they were able to find what they were looking for was consistent with the findings of earlier studies. It was possible to identify a small number of cases where the library did not hold the item required, though most failures were either due to technical reasons or could not be fully investigated because not enough information was provided by the respondent.

The survey conducted was inconclusive, partly because the delivery method used was quite cumbersome, and also because it focussed on known item searches rather than topic searches. The paper includes suggestions on how the survey could be broadened and technically improved.

The paper shows the value and limitations of conducting a materials availability survey in the electronic library, and makes suggestions on how the effectiveness of such a survey can be maximised.

This title is obviously a variation on the major theme of Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992. His emphasis on the state of the U.S. economy underscored the fact that, at times, certain topics have achieved or deserve greater salience. And so, my theme is that the study and teaching of international business must place greater emphasis on political institutions, developments andbehaviors.

The purpose of this paper is to review a popular business handbook – The Business Guide – by James L. Nichols, first published around the turn of the twentieth century. The analysis is geared toward determining how it fits within the development of marketing thought and education.

A review of the marketing history literature focusing on marketing thought, education and practice around the turn of the twentieth century is conducted. The content of The Business Guide is analyzed and compared with the themes reflected in the literature review.

Most editions appeared in the era just proceeding the emergence of marketing as distinct discipline. It is unlikely that it had any appreciable influence on the development of marketing thought. However, it was used as a textbook at North-Western College in Naperville, IL, and may have been at other early business education programs in the USA and Canada. Nichols’ treatment of marketing topics was consistent with the era. It reflected commodities and functional views. For him, marketing was primarily distribution along with advertising, pricing, product management and credit. Consistent with modern marketing philosophy, Nichols placed heavy emphasis on ethics.

Despite the fact that this book was published in multiple editions over several decades, it seems to have been largely forgotten. As far as is known, this paper is the only recent treatment of this historical artifact.

For a number of years the Building Maintenance Cost Information Service, an arm of the RICS, has been collecting and disseminating property occupancy cost information on a standardised basis. David Wells of the BMCIS writes about this invaluable research activity, which has resulted in the creation of universal cost comparisons between buildings — and which tells the facilities manager a great deal about the real occupancy costs of his buildings.

In 1933, Edward H. Chamberlin published the Theory of Monopolistic Competition (1962). The work, based upon a dissertation submitted for a PhD degree in Harvard University in 1927 and awarded the David A. Wells prize for 1927–28, has since become a milestone in the development of economic thought. Its impact on industrial organisation theory, general equilibrium and welfare economics, international trade theory and, to a greater or lesser degree, all other branches of economic analysis, has been pervasive and enduring. The ideas set out in the book have been developed, expanded and refined in ways too numerous to be identified precisely, and the books and articles which take Chamberlin's contribution as a starting point arguably exceed in number those on any other single subject in the lexicon of economics.

Discusses the microcomputer policy implemented by Las Vegas‐Clark County Library District. Examines the goals of the computer public access facility, the software used, the staff, the access policies, and the staff training program. Summarises that public access to computers should be kept manageable, that Macs have proved as popular as IBMs, and that only the most popular software should be used initially.

HIS holidays over, before the individual and strenuous winter work of his library begins, the wise librarian concentrates for a few weeks on the Annual Meeting of the Library Association. This year the event is of unusual character and of great interest. Fifty years of public service on the part of devoted workers are to be commemorated, and there could be no more fitting place for the commemoration than Edinburgh. It is a special meeting, too, in that for the first time for many years the Library Association gathering will take a really international complexion. If some too exacting critics are forward to say that we have invited a very large number of foreign guests to come to hear themselves talk, we may reply that we want to hear them. There is a higher significance in the occasion than may appear on the surface—for an effort is to be made in the direction of international co‐operation. In spite of the excellent work of the various international schools, we are still insular. Now that the seas are open and a trip to America costs little more than one to (say) Italy, we hope that the way grows clearer to an almost universal co‐working amongst libraries. It is overdue. May our overseas guests find a real atmosphere of welcome, hospitality and friendship amongst us this memorable September!