For those receiving funding from the UK HEFCE-funded Open Educational Resource Programme (2009-2012), the sustainability of project outputs was one of a number of essential goals. Our approach for the hosting and distribution of health and life science open educational resources (OER) was based on the utilisation of the WordPress.org blogging…

Library 2.0 literature has described many of the possibilities Web 2.0 technologies offer to libraries. Case studies have assessed local use, but no studies have measured the Library 2.0 phenomenon by searching public social networking sites. This study used library-specific terms to search public social networking sites, blog search engines, and…

The authors describe how content-based multimedia search technologies can be used to help learners find new materials and learning pathways by identifying semantic relationships between educational resources in a social learning network. This helps users--both learners and educators--to explore and find material to support their learning aims.…

Presents the results of a qualitative study that focuses on search patterns of college students and community users interacting with a digital image collection. The study finds a distinct difference between the two groups of users and examines the role of mental models in information seeking behavior in digital libraries.

Describes the digitization projects being undertaken by publishers to provide long runs of back issues of newspapers and journal articles, and the necessary indexing tools, to meet the need for older materials. Discusses search capabilities, links, the addition of metadata, and usage statistics. (LRW)

This article describes rational analyses and cognitive models of Web users developed within information foraging theory. This is done by following the rational analysis methodology of (a) characterizing the problems posed by the environment, (b) developing rational analyses of behavioral solutions to those problems, and (c) developing cognitive…

The use of online searching by reference librarians to provide actual answers and not just bibliographies or current awareness printouts has the potential to save time and money for the reference department. The quick reference service can actually promote rather than compete with the library's online search service for in depth subject searching.…

PROBE, a batch-mode information retrieval program used to search the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) data base, was developed by Indiana University. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, questionnaires were given to the users of 200 consecutive searches during February 1973. Relevance ratios were computed by comparing the…

Discussion of information retrieval highlights DalText, a prototype information retrieval system that provides access to nonindexed textual data files where the mode of access is determined by the user based on the task at hand. A user study is described that was conducted at Dalhousie University (Nova Scotia) to test DalText. (Contains 23…

This paper focuses on the casual user's needs and problems in learning to search online retrieval systems. Such users are inclined to infrequent use, and are unlikely to have much interest or knowledge about the complexities of the system. The TRAINER program is designed to teach these users to search online, so that they may access information…

Presents the background, database, user instructions, design criteria, hardware, and commands of the online catalog system at the University of New Brunswick (Canada) library, as well as self-instructional features of the system. Evaluation of systems use and potential applications are discussed, and sample displays are provided. (RBF)

Designed to evaluate the usefulness of the BIOSIS PREVIEWS database when searching the psychiatric literature, this study compared the effectiveness of this online database with the effectiveness of two other computerized databases, MEDLINE and PsycINFO (Psychological Abstracts), which psychiatric researchers and clinicians usually rely on when…

DIALOG, an interactive, computer-based information retrieval language, consists of a series of computer programs designed to make use of direct access memory devices in order to provide the user with a rapid means of identifying records within a specific memory bank. Using the system, a library user can be provided access to sixteen distinct and…

Librarians use subject guides to introduce students to library materials. Surveys, usability tests, and usage statistics demonstrate that students do not relate well to subject guides. We suggest that library resources organized or delivered at a course level are more in line with how undergraduate students approach library research. (Contains 26…

This paper describes an experiment in the use of Dewey Decimal Classification in online catalogs to introduce classed approach to subject searching of library collections, enhance subject terminology indexed in online catalog, and provide possibilities for search strategies not possible through alphabetical approach of subject headings and/or…