College and university librarians were surveyed in May 1984 to assess their experiences and opinions with respect to online searching in the humanities. A questionnaire was mailed to 1,160 4-year college and university libraries in the American Library Directory (1983) that listed an online services coordinator, an enrollment of 1,000 or more, or…

This report describes efforts by three academic libraries to develop a model instructional program for online catalog users that could be adopted in other academic libraries. A key component of the research included the exploration and development of a methodology for utilizing online transaction logs to evaluate user performance. The four project…

This survey of 57 members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) examines technical and management issues in providing remote access to their online catalogs, as well as with instructions and services for remote users. It is noted that most ARL libraries have not yet conducted studies to project the extent of use of remote access, although…

This report describes the pilot data collections and post-questionnaire interview activities of the Council on Library Resources (CLR)/Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Online Public Access Project. The background of the project is briefly described, the purpose and adminstration of the post-questionnaire interviews are outlined, and pilot…

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,…

Data concerning online searching in the State University of New York (SUNY) Library System was obtained from a 50-question survey of the 63 SUNY libraries conducted in March 1983. A total of 52 surveys were completed. It was found that: 18 campuses offered inhouse online search services to their patrons, 15 additional campuses offered access to…

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…

Prior to changing from a manual/time sharing circulation system to an online system with an in-house computer, the staff of the Mary and John Gray Library of Lamar University reevaluated their current circulation policies in light of the increased capabilities of the new system. As part of this process, a survey was conducted of the libraries in…

This report summarizes research undertaken at the Sterling C. Evans Library, Texas A & M University to assess the impact that end user information retrieval systems may have on library staff and users. Two systems, BRS/After Dark and Search Helper, were made available in the library for end user searching at no cost. A total of 260 users…

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 research study addressed four issues relating to subject searching in online catalogs: faculty and student use of subject searching in library catalogs; users' knowledge of and use of the Library of Congress Subject Headings List (LCSH) in a controlled subject heading search; strategies for teaching effective subject searching; and users'…

The Library Catalog Cost Model described in this report was developed to assist each of the 72 individual libraries participating in the project to compare the costs of alternative future forms of the catalog, emphasizing the costs of implementing AACR 2 (Anglo American Cataloging Rules 2). Inputs characterizing their costs and modes of operation…

This publication reporting the responses of 92 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members to an automation inventory survey conducted in March 1985 was generated from a database developed by ARL to provide timely, comparable information about the extent and nature of automation within the ARL library community. Among operational systems, the…

This study on the role of instruction in encouraging the successful performance of the first-time online catalog user examined three relationships to evaluate the effects of an instructional program: the comparative effectiveness of four instructional methods in orienting users to the online catalog; the influence of an instruction program on user…