Although information has become increasingly prevalent in young people's lives, minimal research has addressed children's attitudes to the word itself. This paper scrutinizes questionnaire-based data to explore how 45 eight- to ten-year-old Canadians understood the term. "Information" was often considered to be material that met a need,…

Reports results of a survey of library patrons which investigated: (1) reasons patrons choose the public library for popular nonprint materials; (2) whether patrons using the library for nonprint materials tend to use print materials during their visits; and (3) how use of nonprint materials affects patrons' perceptions of their libraries. (MES)

Based on the concept that library use measurement should have as its basic starting point the individual patron, a method of data collection and analysis has been developed that explores individual patterns of borrowing over time. The method accounts for the number of visits on which borrowing takes place, number of items borrowed per visit, and…

Columbia-Greene Community College (Hudson, New York) takes a yearly 10% statistical sample of its entire circulating collection, noting the call number, acquisition year, and circulation record of each book, in order to determine the pattern of book use over the preceding 2.5 years, and to facilitate the development of an acquisition pattern that…

A study designed to discover reasons for reduction in public library usage by children as they reach adolescence surveyed 122 junior high students to determine where they obtain reading material, what influences selection, and whether location of young adult books in the children's section inhibits use. Ideas for promotion and improved programming…

This packet of materials is for use by school librarians participating in a study of eighth-grade students' attitudes and the relationship of these attitudes to use of the school library. Included is a schedule of activities and an outline of procedures to be followed in the following activities: selection of students to attend six consecutive…

This annotated bibliography of materials dealing with the evaluation of library reference services is arranged by category including literature success, quality, and accuracy of answers; cost and task analysis; interviews and communication; classification of reference questions; reference collections; staff availability; use and nonuse of…

Fifty-five Association of Research Libraries member academic libraries were surveyed to determine trends in use of commercially available online numeric databases. Databases searched, searchers, users, publicity, library role in relation to numeric databases, and librarians' attitudes toward and knowledge of databases are examined. The…

This review of the research on the use of card catalogs and online catalogs highlights research methodologies and significant findings. Discussion of the results focuses on user needs and satisfaction, and the need to separate bibliographic practices that are universally sound from those that are an adaptation to the medium. (CLB)

A study of the collection of college catalogs at a medium-sized university library found that they are used by many types of clients in addition to undergraduates; users need a current, comprehensive collection and are not bothered by a lack of shelf order; use is enough to justify the collection. (Author/EM)

Describes the research objectives, rationale, methodology, and findings of a model program developed at the Northwestern University Library, which examined whether online catalogs require instruction and, if so, how that instruction would be best delivered. (CLB)

A survey at the University of Houston examined factors related to subject searching success in online catalogs, including: extent of subject searching; response to unsuccessful searches; reasons subject search is not used; users' awareness of sources of subject terms; and suggestions from users for improving subject searching capabilities. (CLB)

Library circulation records for five years in one Hawaiian elementary school were analyzed to discover patterns according to sex and grade level; identify titles, subjects, and types of books circulated; and determine circulation of Hawaiiana and books about Asia. Bibliography of 129 titles mentioned in text is included. (11 references) (EJS)

A randomized experiment was performed in five high schools in which a random half of the students in a sophomore English class received a special 8-week library-oriented treatment designed to improve students' understanding of, attitudes toward, and use of the school library. The treatment was found to have a statistically significant effect on…

Presents a methodology for describing, analyzing, and evaluating the public service functions of serial file systems, and describes a user study conducted in a university departmental library to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of its system in enabling students new to the library to locate known-items in the serials collection. (CDD)