STUDYING THE VALUE OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION-SERVICES .1. ESTABLISHING A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This report is derived from a large study sponsored by the Council on Library Resources. Two of the objectives of the study were to develop a taxonomy of value-in-use of library and information services based o n users assessments and to propose methods and instruments for similar studies of library and information services in general. The correspon ding results are reported in two parts. In this, the first part, we di scuss underlying concepts related to value that must be clarified in o rder to proceed with any pragmatic study of value, and we establish a theory of use-oriented value of information and information services. We examine the notion of ''value'' in philosophy and economics and in relation to library and information services as well as the connection between value and relevance. We develop two models: One related to us e of information and the other to use of library and information servi ces. They are a theoretical framework for pragmatic study of value and a guide for the development of a Derived Taxonomy of Value in Using L ibrary and Information Services. In the second part of this report, we present the methodology employed in development of the Taxonomy, the Taxonomy itself, and the results of testing the Taxonomy, We believe t hat the Taxonomy covers most dimensions of value related to use of lib rary and information services. In the second part we also present sugg estions for pragmatic applications of the Taxonomy.