A customer contact center offers academic libraries the ability to consistently improve their telephone, e-mail, and IM services. This paper discusses the establishment of a contact center and the benefits of implementing the contact center model at this institution. It then introduces a practical methodology for developing a valid measurement…

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…

Proper planning and assessment surveys of projects for academic library Web sites will not always be predictive of real world use, no matter how many responses they might receive. In this case, multiple-phase development, librarian focus groups, and patron surveys performed before implementation of such a project inaccurately overrated utility and…

Valuable information in print is often neglected because of the rapid proliferation of electronic resources and the bias of many library users against print sources. At Joyner Library, it was decided to construct an interactive subject guide database that included resources in all formats to offer users a convenient starting point for research and…

A study of how patrons think and behave as they seek information at a major research library (Johns Hopkins University) reveals the need to provide the kinds of services and programs that meet the actual needs and preferences of patrons. Focusing on what librarians think is needed can result in poor service. (Author)

Traditional reference service at the Creighton University Health Sciences Library/Learning Resources Center has been transformed into a vibrant, information dissemination system. Maintaining routine reference skills and developing new ones is standard practice. The furious pace of demand for information, and the growing "technicalness"…

During 1993-94 the University Libraries of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, began formal needs assessment to collect data that reflect the information needs of university students, faculty, and staff. The program was implemented by a Needs Assessment Coordinating Group, an assessment consultant, and staff members. Data from the…

This case study examines how analyzing inaccurate referrals can provide key insights into managing change. The author analyzes what went wrong in an attempt to identify opportunities for an Access Services department to consider how it might adapt to constant change. She wishes to show how the nature of change today demands that one pay…