This presentation at a seminar for library staff and students describes the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) system as an information system designed to provide users with ready access to primarily English-language literature dealing with education by establishing a database, publishing abstracting journals, and reproducing…

Intended to provide an alternative to typical lists of "best sources," this bibliography annotates general reference sources as well as those in areas of business, science, and technology; fine arts and literature; medicine and health; and social sciences and humanities. Sources include print, CD-ROM, and online formats. A reference book survey…

A detailed descriptive analysis of both the direct and indirect costs incurred by the Federal government in operating the ERIC system, and the user population and user demand for ERIC products and services, this study is based on data gathered from a number of complementary sources. These sources included a survey of ERIC's U.S. intermediate…

This 2-year project at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) was conducted to determine the feasibility of providing online periodical indexing to the journal holdings of the UTA libraries by demonstrating an extended use of the libraries' NOTIS Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) to provide better access to local resources. Three approaches…

Designed to determine to what extent the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) products and services are utilized by certified school personnel, this study found that, on the average, 25.1% of the teachers, librarians, counselors, and administrators in three educational service regions in west central Illinois have used Resources in…

This study investigated the use patterns of four CD-ROM systems--Newsbank Electronic Index, SilverPlatter's ERIC and PsycLIT, and Dissertation Abstracts Ondisc--and their print index counterparts in the University of Georgia (UGA) Main Library, which houses collections and provides library services for the humanities, the social sciences, and…

A study was conducted to assess the value of the Energy Data Base (EDB), which is produced by the Technical Information Center (TIC) of the Department of Energy (DOE) in order to provide a means of identifying primary energy information sources, particularly journal articles and technical reports. The volume of energy information distributed to…

The rapid expansion of online publications has raised some concerns about the use of online databases in comparison with using traditional print publications. To determine the opinions of end users about using Dialog online databases versus their corresponding print versions, three libraries in Atlanta, Georgia--Atlanta-Fulton Public Library,…

Designed to introduce education students to the basic library resources in the field, this self-paced workbook assumes a basic knowledge of the library and its resources. Each section in the eight-chapter workbook discusses a particular type of reference material and sample entries are provided when appropriate. Eleven assignments (two multiple…

A survey of public library users was conducted regarding retrieval results of unassisted user searches in general periodical indexes. The data were analyzed to evaluate the impact or lack of impact of searching a CD-ROM index with loosely-controlled vocabulary and expanded-search capabilities (i.e., InfoTrac-General Periodicals Index) versus a…

Describes a survey of academic librarians that investigated issues relating to CD-ROM indexes, including print index cancellations; cost versus other factors in cancellations; database vendors' charging structure; CD-ROM durability; student preference for CD-ROM over print; and effective use without librarian assistance. (22 references) (LRW)

Reports on a study of library skills retention which showed that the inclusion of library exercises and hands-on training in undergraduate and graduate bibliographic instruction programs influences education students' retention of subject matter. Statistics are given for each item on a 24-question pre- and posttest; a copy of the test is appended.…