Assessment and decision making: two user‐oriented studies

Regional accreditation standards for library services reveal a clear shift away from resources per se towards actual student use to meet their information needs. They also recognize increasing reliance on electronic access to remote information sources. However, unobtrusive data of actual student borrowing/browsing behaviour suggest a wide discrepancy between meeting needs via the conventional on‐site library collection and the significant efforts to maintain and increase collections regardless of the behaviour. Proposes a shift in evaluation of library services to bring resource planning into closer harmony with accreditation standards, students’ library use patterns and information age realities.