Research consultations are a standard service in academic libraries and consume significant library resources. There is a lack of scholarship evaluating the impact of this service on faculty. This paper describes the impact of librarian consultations on faculty and their role in the research process. Data was collected from a survey of sixty-seven…

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…

This unobtrusive study examined whether the accuracy of reference service provided by student reference assistants (SRAs) and full-time paraprofessional department assistants (DAs) at the Brigham Young University library had improved since 1987. The effects of the following factors on accuracy were also considered: (1) whether a question was…

This research report presents the results of a survey of public libraries that serve areas where populations are 25,000 or fewer individuals. The long range goal of the study was to gather data that would help to initially describe some of the circumstances in which and because of which rural information services exist and endure. Questionnaires…

This study examined whether user satisfaction with library services is affected by certain objective and subjective librarian behaviors exhibited during the reference interview. A patron survey was conducted during July 1993 in three branches of Cuyahoga County Public Library, located in northeastern Ohio. The sample was determined by the patrons…

In order to ascertain what data elements should commonly be considered in the development of a meaningful procedure for recording and analyzing library reference transaction data for planning purposes, a comparison was made between the development, use, and results of surveys designed and tested at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) and the…

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…

Reports the results of a survey of reference librarians in public and academic libraries that investigated experiences with and attitudes toward the use of digital and networked technologies and resources in reference work. Highlights include a correlation between experiences and positive attitudes; characteristics of librarians; and current and…

Each year, from 1982 to 1986, the Library Research Center at the University of Illinois conducted a study called the Index of Quality of Public Library Service. For this study, unobtrusive tests of reference service and book availability were performed annually in Illinois Public Libraries. When the results from rural libraries were compared with…

This paper reports on a study conducted to determine if staffing changes were necessary at the information desk at the main branch of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library (Ohio). Questions addressed included: (1) What times are busiest in the library? (2) Should there be changes in staffing the reference desk that could lead to…

This study describes two surveys of the users of the Public Documents and Maps Department of the Duke University Library. The information gathered in the course of this inquiry is reported: (1) in a profile of the users of the department's reference service, and (2) in a comparison and analysis of the evaluations of reference encounters by both…

Produced as part of a formal library review process, this publication reports the results of a 1981 survey of approximately 1000 undergraduates, postgraduates, and academic staff at the Australian National University (ANU) to determine their use of and satisfaction with facilities, materials, and services provided by ANU's library system. A high…

Describes an instrument designed to assess the reference outcome in terms of patron report of success in finding what was wanted, rather than overall satisfaction. The results of a library survey which tested the reliability of this instrument and compared it with unobtrusive observation are reported. (Author/CLB)

The purpose of the project described in this paper was to gather information about online/CD-ROM database systems that would be useful in improving the services offered at the University of Findlay, a small private liberal arts college in northwestern Ohio. A survey was sent to 67 libraries serving colleges similar in size which included questions…

Reports findings of a Statistics Task Force investigation at New York University's Bobst Library, which reviewed the collection and publication of statistics and data related to library reference and information services and use of resources, and developed a framework for inclusions, definitions, procedures, and policies for data collection and…