Describes a study that examined the search behavior of remote users of the University of California MELVYL online public access catalog by analyzing the transaction logs. Highlights include the number of searches, databases searched, number of retrievals, constructing search commands, problems with search terms, and effectiveness of searches.…

Discussion of scientific information and communication focuses on a study that considers the extent to which research orientation, interdisciplinary work, and disciplinary differences are associated with the use of information sources, with the extent of computer-mediated communication, and with experiencing scientific information overload.…

Describes how a public library consortium jettisoned the Request for Proposal (RFP) process and used library staff, with some assistance from consultants, to evaluate new automation systems based on software demonstrations and Requests for Quotations (RFQ). The RFQ and RFP processes are compared. A sidebar article describes the financing plan.…

Describes a study conducted at the University of Illinois to test the effectiveness of subject access in the online bibliographic catalog. Relevance is examined and possible methods of improving subject access are described. Results suggest that significant improvements are not possible within the constraints of existing subject cataloging…

Identifies characteristics of the international student population and patterns of international students' library use. The students' prior use of microcomputers and their current perceived difficulties in using libraries are reported, and the implications for libraries are drawn. Fourteen tables provide data about student characteristics and…

Reports results of a 1990 survey of the progress Minnesota school library media centers made toward meeting Information Power guidelines for automating circulation, reference services, and the catalog. Order of automation, relationship between school size and automation, media specialists' satisfaction with new systems, and reasons for not…

Discusses developments in electronic reference sources for the history of art and considers their use by librarians and researchers. The traditional literature of art history is described, and current projects and databases are reviewed that include art, architecture, auction sales catalogs, preservation, library catalogs, thesauri, authority…

Describes a study that used transaction log analysis to investigate the use of subject searching in the University of California's Online Union Catalog, MELVYL. Mathematical models of trends and patterns in the data are presented, problems with subject searching are explained, and remedies to subject searching problems are suggested. (62…

This issue is devoted to examining current and possible future trends in library technical services. Highlights include professional and nonprofessional staffing; library automation; bibliographic utilities; cataloging; shared online catalogs; Serials of Illinois Libraries Online (SILO), a union list program; long-range planning; and optical…

Describes a microcomputer program that serves as a front-end to an online library catalog and other information sources and provides guidance to students on searching for and evaluating information. Funding, technology, evaluation, impact on other libraries, and future plans are discussed. Sample screens are included. (Contains 75 references.)…

Details the three phases the Jack Brause Library Real Estate Periodical Index (New York University) has gone through since it first went to an electronic format. Discusses beginning the electronic database, issues on electronic storage and use, implementing more user-friendly software, and the transition to the Web. (AEF)

Reports on the follow-up study of a two-part project designed to study the decision-making process underlying how academic researchers select documents retrieved from online databases, consult or read, and cite documents during a research project. Findings indicated that all but one of the criteria reoccur in connection with reading and citing…

Describes in detail the four sessions of a pre-college technology seminar designed to upgrade high school seniors' skills and give them confidence as they enter college. Critical areas addressed are search strategies, college online catalogs, database selection, and evaluation of Web sites. (AEF)

This report provides information about "IRIS," a one year interlibrary loan project between the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), and Vanderbilt University. IRIS, which was sponsored in part by a grant under Title II-D of the Higher Education Act, makes the Vanderbilt library's online catalog available for searching at the UTK…

This workbook is designed to familiarize students with the layout of Whittemore Library (Framingham State College, Massachusetts) and the types of information sources available for them to use in solving their research problems. It also provides guidance in developing a logical, systematic plan for formulating a search strategy and gathering…