This report describes a computer-monitoring study of users of the Ohio State University Libraries' online catalog, an established and heavily used information retrieval system. Designed for end users, online library catalogs require little or no formal training, and often replace an existing manual system. Data were gathered unobtrusively by…

Discusses characteristics of typical online public access catalogs (OPACs) and examines patron use via printouts of transaction logs for three separate systems. Desirable features of OPACs (mnemonic search commands, boolean operators, forgiveness or automatic truncation, browsing a subject heading index, suggestive prompts) and need for…

A study of ways in which users conduct subject searches with an online public access catalog (OPAC) was performed at the College Park Campus of the University of Maryland. Both process (search patterns) and product (search results) variables were examined with respect to individual characteristics of 39 volunteers, many of whom were master's level…

A survey of 430 users of online catalog at Ohio State University Libraries found that most users are undergraduate students (68 percent) and that majority (95 percent) choose online catalog as first source of information. Fewer performed known-item searches and success rates were generally higher than reported in earlier studies. (8 references)…

This pilot study on the subject access problems of patrons of small to medium size libraries was designed to measure the extent to which users' vocabularies matched the search vocabulary of bibliographic records in the card catalog, and to enhance subject access by develooping a microcomputer system which integrated Library of Congress Subject…

New York University (NYU) Libraries received a 1-year grant from the Association of Research Libraries to study users' responses to its recently installed Geac online catalog, Bobcat (Bobst Library Computerized Catalog). The survey instrument, developed for Council on Library Resources (CLR)-funded national study of responses to public access…

Reports on the Online Catalog Public Access Project, a survey of users and nonusers in 31 U.S. libraries conducted for the Council on Library Resources. Characteristics of users, tasks, library setting, and system interface that affect user satisfaction are identified. A 25-item bibliography and user questionnaire are appended. (7 references) (EJS)

In-person interviews were conducted with 147 randomly selected students to study usage of microfiche serials holdings list to determine accessibility and retrievability of periodical issues housed in four separate locations in California Polytechnic State University Library. Results showed that 80.6 percent of students were successful in their…

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)

Describes the methodology and findings of a survey of 196 faculty members at an academic research library. Focusing on use of subject searches in card and online catalogs, the study compared use by faculty from the humanities and social sciences with use by faculty from the natural sciences and engineering. (Author/CLB)