This report describes a survey conducted in 1979 to determine user response to SCORPIO, part of the Library of Congress Information System (LOCIS) consisting of online catalogs that are used directly by the public and are integrated with regular reference services. A questionnaire distributed to 123 users of this system asked about types of users,…

Findings of study of user perceptions of online public access catalog in an academic library system indicate that: most patrons learned to use system from printed instructions; next most frequent sources of information were library staff and help feature; most patrons were extremely satisfied with system. Six references are cited. (EJS)

A microcomputer and hard disk were used to set up an automated card catalog in an Edmonton (Alberta) elementary school learning resource center to determine if a computerized card catalog would help elementary students to access learning resource materials, thereby enhancing their learning. Instead of using a traditional card catalog, students…

The current attitudes of users and non-users towards public online computer catalogs (OPAC's) were studied at the Library of Congress (LC) and responses were compared with those from an aggregate survey. Attitudes of both users and non-users toward the LC OPAC system were favorable. Problems experienced by patrons related to difficulty in…

With grants from the Council on Library Resources (CLR) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), New York University (NYU) Libraries conducted a study to assess user reactions to their online catalog, Bobcat (Bobst Library Computerized Catalog). In order to evaluate the effectiveness of NYU's catalog, to describe users' attitudes toward…

Researchers studying subject searching distributed an online questionnaire to users who access the University of California's online public access catalog, MELVYL, from public access terminals in the libraries of the University of California at Santa Cruz. This article discusses the results of transaction log analysis, comparison of in-library and…

The Subject Access Research Project was initiated by OCLC in August 1979 to study the process of subject searching in the library catalog, with the objective of identifying features for an automated subject retrieval system which would support the present search tactics employed by library users performing manual subject searches at the library…

The study reported in this paper was conducted to determine the need for "see" references for authors' names in library catalogs. Nine-item patron questionnaires were placed in the University of Rhode Island's main library. Over the course of six years, 160 questionnaires were completed, 47 by undergraduate students, 76 by graduate…

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)

A national study of users and non-users of public access online catalog systems (OPACs) was undertaken at 29 libraries, representing 15 computer systems, to provide data and interpretations useful to system designers and library administrators. The findings indicate that users have overwhelmingly positive responses to OPACs. Non-users have…

This report covers the background, scope, and findings of a multifaceted research project which focused on data collection and analysis related to online public access systems (OPAC's); the ultimate goal of this project is to improve information access through OPAC design and enhancement. To assist library decision-makers when planning for the…

This set of materials assembled by the Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) contains seven examples of general use surveys and eight examples of user surveys on specific topics from a group of major research libraries. Among the items included are (1) a final report on a library user survey…

This report describes a survey of 2,366 randomly selected U.S. academic, public, special, and school libraries which examined the usage and impact of the Cataloging in Publication (CIP) program on three areas of library operations: acquisitions, cataloging, and public services. Utlization of CIP data by a separate group of large U.S. libraries is…

This paper presents results from a study undertaken in 1983 at the Australian National University (ANU) to determine the extent and type of problems academic staff and students had while using the library's catalogs or while locating materials on the shelves. A questionnaire mailed to a stratified random sample of approximately 1,200 academic…