Urquhart’s Law: Probability and the Management of Scientific and Technical Journal Collections Part 2. Probability in the Development and Management of a Central Document Delivery Collection

Part 1 of this three-part paper discussed the genesis of the law formulated by Donald J. Urquhart on the use of scientific and technical (sci/tech) journals through interlibrary loan and central document delivery. It concentrated on the study of such use conducted by Urquhart in preparation for the establishment of the National Lending Library for Science and Technology (NLL), which became the central document delivery library of Britain. The focus of Part 1 was on the statistical and probabilistic bases of this law. In Part 2 the emphasis shifts to how Urquhart utilized probability to develop and manage the NLL’s sci/tech journal collection. Urquhart based his collection development and management policies on a high-loan core of journals, causing the staStephen J. Bensman, MLS, PhD (History), is Technical Services Librarian, LSU Libraries, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (E-mail: notsjb@ lsu.edu). Part 1 was published in Science & Technology Libraries, Volume 26, Number 1, 2005. Part 3 appears in this issue on pp. 33-69. Science & Technology Libraries, Vol. 26(2) 2005 Available online at http://www.haworthpress.com/web/STL © 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1300/J122v26n02_02 5 bility of sci/tech journal use over time to become the main theoretical issue. Part 2 analyzes the controversy over this issue between Urquhart and his successor, Maurice B. Line. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: Website: © 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]