Cost-performance analysis of cataloging and card production in a medical center library.

The unit cost of cataloging current English language monographs was studies and compared with the cost of purchasing catalog cards from a commercial source. Two hypotheses were proposed: (1) in-library costs for cataloging and card production are higher than those for the purchased-card method; (2) throughput time is faster for the in-library method. In addition, the data can be used to develop an analytical cost-performance model for administrative purposes. The data presented support the hypotheses. The model developed provides a mechanism for arriving at a cost for different levels of service and can be used to measure the performance of other alternative methods of cataloging. Implications for the use of CATLINE are discussed and suggestions for further studies are described.