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In his paper ‘Accounting information in universities’ Sims draws attention to the inadequacy of university financial information systems. He argues that the way in which universities present financial information emphasizes the university's function as a steward of public funds, but he does not provide the data on which good management decisions can be made.

A method of estimating occupied shelf space in a library is described and the level of accuracy obtainable is discussed.

Little attention has been given to the long term effects of cancelling periodicals. A case study of Stirling University Library between 1973/76 and 1978/79 is used to demonstrate that cancelling periodicals can significantly increase a library's workload.

The development of performance indicators specifically within and for polytechnic libraries is reviewed. A framework of library activities is derived on which performance measurement might be based and six indicators are identified. The practical applicability of the framework is considered in relation to polytechnic libraries and to both institutional and library aims and objectives.

The books, periodicals and binding component of the Index of university costs is based on the assumption that the ratio of expenditure on binding to combined expenditure on monographs and periodicals in British university libraries is 1:8. Practice in individual libraries varies widely about this mean. It is possible to find even among libraries serving similar academic populations ratios varying from 1:6 to 1:20. There may of course be sound reasons for particular binding policies that depart markedly from the norm. The purpose of this paper is not to advocate uniformity of policy but to propose a set of criteria for the selection of periodicals for binding that may assist librarians to apply their professional judgment systematically, whatever the level of funds at their disposal.

A recurrent problem in library administration is that libraries do not expand evenly. In a small library (of, say, less than 100,000 volumes) the daily reports of staff responsible for shelving are probably sufficient to inform the librarian of the progress of expansion. Such reports are valuable in all libraries; but in larger libraries it is difficult to obtain from these reports alone a clear view of the general pattern of shelf occupancy. The larger the library, the more important it becomes to assess ad hoc reports on tactical shelving difficulties in the context of a broader strategy. To this end many libraries prepare annually systematic tabulations of available capacity and occupied shelf space. This paper suggests a way in which information gathered for this purpose may be exploited to greater advantage.

Recession, inflation, cuts — these and related keywords have dominated the international literature of librarianship in recent years. The academic library community has been implored to change its “mission”, redefining its basic priorities, and substituting service for stock, access strategies for holdings strategies, collection management for collection development, undergraduate needs for postgraduate needs (or vice‐versa), and management skills for professionalism. While the production of prescriptions, frequently radical ones, has become an industry, analysis and, above all, measurement of the underlying problem has been strictly limited. Descriptions of cuts have tended to paint a qualitative rather than a quantitative picture. Statistical analysis of aspects of recession has usually been restricted by time‐span, subject coverage, type of material, or a combination of these.

The task of the librarian is to achieve his library's objectives. A simplistic statement, perhaps, but it is rare that a library's objectives are defined in any terms other than the broadest—for example, ‘to meet the needs of its users’. In fact, the definition of objectives in any service organization is likely to be an iterative process, but the explicit commitment to users‘ needs (however mystical this concept may be) requires the librarian to examine users’ behaviour as a first step to determining policy. Since a complete state‐of‐the‐art in user behaviour would fill a substantial book, this survey is restricted to drawing together some threads of research of potential application in university libraries. Methodological problems are not discussed here, since these are adequately reviewed elsewhere.

A survey of student user opinion of the new university Arts and Social Studies Library is reported. Students are concerned more about adequacy of book stocks and study spaces than about other issues. It is suggested that this type of survey might provide information for policy decision makers in allocating resources.

Library accounts in the university financial accounting system should give administrators information for sound management decision. In light of the extensive body of literature published recently on library accounting and cost analysis, 12 university libraries were reviewed to determine whether their accounting practices were keeping up theory.