Walters’ article wins Best of LRTS Award

William H. Walters, dean of library services and professor of social sciences at Menlo College, Atherton, Calif. has won the 2008 Best of LRTS Award for his article, "A Regression-based Approach to Library Fund Allocation," published in Library Resources & Technical Services (LRTS), volume 51, number 4, October 2007, pages 263-278.

The Best of LRTS Award is given to the author of the best paper published each year in LRTS, the official journal of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services. The author receives $250 and a citation in recognition of his or her work.

After a survey and critique of the literature on library fund allocation, Walters presents a novel regression-based method of weighting and combining variables to develop a funding allocation formula. The resulting allocations are equity-based, assuring that departments that are similar in nature receive similar support. Walters presents a valuable step-by-step guide to selecting appropriate variables, performing the regression analysis and interpreting results. He offers two interesting strategies that could be used to encourage the acceptance of regression-based allocations at the local level. The jury commends the author for a significant contribution to a topic with a long history of discussion in the professional literature and for explaining the particulars of the statistics involved in a clear, understandable and logical fashion.

The award will be presented on Sunday, June 29, at the ALCTS Awards Ceremony during the 2008 American Library Association (ALA) meeting in Anaheim, Calif.

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) is the national association for information providers who work in collections and technical services, such as acquisitions, cataloging, collection development, preservation and continuing resources in digital and print formats.

ALCTS is a division of the American Library Association.