Resources are described for helping parents inform themselves about their disabled child's medical problems. Included are the use of library tools (card catalogs, cross references, periodicals, and indexes), use of library services (interlibrary loans and online searching), and other sources of information such as government sources, associations,…

Describes the provision of library services to performing musicians in a music conservatory and focuses on their need for information in three main categories: (1) access to collections through library catalogs and other sources, (2) sources for the study of musical scores, and (3) research using sources for contextual and background research. (10…

Discussion of historians as library users divides the historians into four categories: professional historians, student historians, amateur historians, and family historians. Highlights include examples of problems with library services, including misleading library catalogs and inadequate reference service; the reference librarian as guide to…

A survey was mailed to the 185 U.S. Roman Catholic cathedrals to determine the nature and extent of cathedral music libraries. In addition to baseline demographic information, survey questions focused on the following topics: (1) music library staffing and management; (2) methods of cataloging and classification; (3) the use and creation of…

Discusses need for retrospective conversion of library catalogs in terms of user-problems related to split catalogs in various formats. Difficulties to be overcome in retrospective conversion projects (ownership of records, costs, non-Roman script languages, standards and inhospitability of MARC for variety of manuscript and pictorial material)…

Presents the results of a study undertaken to determine the bibliographic control requirements of a small- to medium-sized public library as these are expressed through library patrons' telephone and catalog reference. Data are presented in five tables, and a 17-item reference list is included. (Author/JL)

This bibliography contains 159 entries related to information dissemination in rural areas and the role of rural libraries in accessing information. The entries were derived from the AGRICOLA database produced by the National Agriculture Library (United States Department of Agriculture) and cover such topics as information needs in rural…

Preliminary reports from seven Association of Research Library (ARL) members conducting research on current public services concerns describe progress to date and initial findings. Research grants of up to $4,000 were provided for the projects, which were selected in part because of their potential usefulness to academic and research libraries.…

Describes the history of consortia and cooperative efforts among libraries and their role in distance learning in higher education. Discusses shared online catalogs; purchases of electronic resources; supporting distance learners' information needs, including virtual reference; staff training; change management; cooperative planning; vendor…

Discusses the needs of remote users of online public access catalogs (OPACs). User expectations are discussed; problems encountered by remote-access users are examined, including technical problems and searching problems; support services are described, including instruction, print guides, and online help; and differences from the needs of…

Libraries are moving into an era that incorporates improvements of a library's existing databases, embraces the research results of the information-seeking process, and makes fundamental improvements by adding new databases such as WordFocus. These new systems should convert the frustrated user of today's online public access catalog (OPAC) into…

Describes a survey of reference librarians in libraries with online public access catalogs that was conducted to determine what types of searches patrons would use to look for names of fictional characters. Name, subject, and author indexes are discussed, and implications for cataloging using the MARC format are suggested. (10 references) (LRW)

This report is a documentation of the questionnaire that was used for a user survey conducted by the University Library of the Technische Universitat Wien (University of Technology, Vienna, Austria) in 1979-80. The survey entailed interviewing 692 faculty as well as 1,319 students on the following topics: (1) social variables; (2) research and…

This report reviews the eight-month process of planning for library automation undertaken by the Cleveland State University libraries late in 1984. Following an overview of the planning process, a listing of goals is presented, and six documents developed as a result of the process are provided. "Review of Current Systems" includes…

A sample of 300 video patrons at the Grandview Heights Public Library (Ohio) was surveyed to determine what information they used from the videocassette container to make their selections. It was expected that knowing what patrons used could help in deciding how much information to enter in bibliographic records for videocassettes. The majority of…