The contributions in this volume represent a decade of OCLC's user behavior research findings that articulate the need for the design of future library services to be all about the user. Highlights include: (1) People associate the library with books and do not consider the library in relation to online resources or reference services; (2) People…

Quora (www.quora.com) is a contemporary, web-based take on reference. Users post questions within Quora and other users answer the questions. Users can vote for and against answers (or not vote at all). It is users asking questions of friends and strangers and then sorting through the results. If the model sounds familiar, it's because it is.…

This paper looks at the author's outreach efforts as a distance librarian to encourage library use among a distance student population that comprises satellite locations, students attending online, students attending courses through instructional television, and students attending hybrid courses. Outcomes of the author's outreach attempts and…

As individuals become more and more comfortable mediating all kinds of situations online and through various technologies, their virtual selves increasingly overlap their "real" lives. Posting a "happy birthday!" message on Facebook is as automatic as dropping a card in the mail. E-mailing relevant links to co-workers happens as naturally as…

Introduces the Internet, including a brief history of the system, the essential components, and a step-by-step procedure for getting started. Discusses online services of specific interest to Hispanics. Also considers the political debate over privatization of services. (RAH)

Many libraries are using co-browsing chat products to provide reference services to their patrons, whilst their patrons are online and using the internet. The concept of such an online service is highly desirable, but many libraries are concerned that they will never be able to afford such a system. This may have changed: Instant Messaging (IM)…

This paper addresses several questions about digital libraries. What kinds of communities will digital library technology produce? The Web seems much more popular then electronic journals--does this mean that surfing will replace literature reading, and that "nerds" building HTML hierarchies will supplant publishers? Will this mean that…

Recent technological advances and administrative planning have significantly improved the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's (UNL) ability to provide continuing education courses to students at a distance. The UNL Libraries deliver services in partnership with the Division of Continuing Studies and several departments on campus. This paper focuses…

This exploratory study establishes analytical tools (based on both technical criteria and user feedback) by which federal Web site administrators may assess the quality of their websites. The study combined qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques to achieve the following objectives: (1) identify and define key issues regarding…

The Brick & Click Libraries Symposium is a one-day conference that focuses on providing library resources and services for students who are either on-campus learners or off-campus learners. It is sponsored by Northwest Missouri State University in order to offer academic librarians a forum for sharing practical information. The subjects and…