Presents selected issues related to the development of universal service to networked information resources and services in a global networked environment. Defines universal service as a set of telecommunications services to which users should have access, including appropriate funding and interconnected public telecommunications infrastructure…

Public library services are being modified or changed by the Internet. Questions about how to evaluate and measure electronic services have become increasingly important. This article presents an analysis of some ways to create, define, and institute electronic network measures. (Author/AEF)

Explores several methods through which to evaluate statewide electronic networks, and discusses key issues and preliminary findings that affect the successful evaluation of statewide networked services. (Author/AEF)

Demonstrates the use of a descriptive assessment of an information policy initiative using the Government Information Locator Service (GILS) as an example. Techniques discussed include historical perspective, review of the key policy instrument, descriptive modeling, side-by-side analysis, review of related policy instruments, literature review,…

The purpose of this research was to explore the possible roles and responsibilities that public libraries might assume in the National Information Infrastructure (NII). Data was collected from September 1994 through June 1995, relying on the following data collection techniques: focus groups, personal interviews, survey data analysis, case…

This report summarizes the findings, issues, and lessons learned from the Developing National Public Library and Statewide Network Statistics and Performance Measures study conducted between January 1999 and August 2000. The overall goal of the study was to develop a core set of national statistics and performance measures that librarians,…

Describes a study commissioned by the Office of Technology Assessment that was conducted to identify innovative information technology applications, management practices, and policies to help integrate the electronic delivery of federal government services. Highlights include the information infrastructure, existing federal information policy,…

The Assessing Quality on Digital Reference team conducted two site visits at Florida Libraries in August 2001. The objectives of these visits were to: document how digital reference services are currently being planned for, delivered, and evaluated in libraries; understand how "quality" in digital reference is defined in these…

Describes a multimethod approach used to evaluate the Government Information Locator Service (GILS). Highlights the limitations and opportunities of available approaches to evaluating complex characteristics of networked information services and digital collections. (Author/AEF)

Argues that much work needs to be done to assess the impacts of global networking on academic institutional performance. How the academic networked environment can be defined, possible assessment criteria, the need for a user perspective, and specific research needs are discussed. (Contains 11 references.) (KRN)

The Government Information Locator Service (GILS) is an innovative networked-based approach to assist users in locating government information resources. This document reports the results of an evaluation study begun in September 1996 and completed in June 1997. The goal of the study was to understand how: GILS serves various user groups; GILS…

Highlights data from unobtrusive exploratory study related to referral process of reference questions posed at academic depository libraries. Related literature is reviewed, followed by discussions of assumptions related to referral process, implications of study findings, recommendations to improve quality of referral services, and research…

Provides an overview of the importance of user-based evaluations of networked information services; reviews data collection techniques that provide a user perspective when assessing networked information services, including focus groups, user logs, interviews, observation, and surveys; and offers practical suggestions and guidelines for using such…

In recent years there has been considerable debate about the appropriate role, management structure, and activities for the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). This background paper identifies key issues that require attention by Congress and by NTIS itself to increase the effectiveness of NTIS in the collection and dissemination of…

Discusses the accessibility of networked information services, i.e., NREN (National Research and Education Network), and suggests a focus on research in two particular areas to identify and meet the information needs of network users: (1) a conceptual description of the academic networked environment, particularly from a user perspective; and (2)…