The reference interview is a critical function of reference work; what a librarian says and does can either build a relationship of trust and satisfaction with patrons, or serve to distance them from librarians. This pilot study examined the attitudes of academic and public librarians toward the reference interview. Librarians from Kent State…

Patron service is a high priority in the library setting and alleviating a large percentage of the directional questions will provide librarians with more time to help patrons more thoroughly than they are able to currently. Furthermore, in view of the current economic trend of downsizing, a navigational computer system program has the potential…

Many reference librarians still rely on manual searches to access vertical files, ready reference files, and other information stored in card files, drawers, and notebooks scattered around the reference department. Automated access to these materials via microcomputers using database management software may speed up the process. This study focuses…

The Internet is becoming an increasingly important medium of electronic information dissemination, and thus an increasingly important library reference tool. This study examines the Internet skills of a sample group of 15 public reference librarians in the Adult Services Department at the Cleveland Heights Public Library. The Internet skills that…

This digest discusses advantages and disadvantages of CD-ROM use in libraries and information centers and lists features of three CD-ROM versions of the ERIC database--Dialog OnDisc ERIC, OCLC Search CD450, and SilverPlatter ERIC. Brief descriptions of these products focus on the differences among them, including equipment requirements, search…

A pilot project was conducted from May 1980 to November 1983 to test the application of iNet--a decentralized, packet-switched telecommunications network--to bibliographic data interchange in Canada. The principal components of the project were participation of the Bibliographic Common Interest Group (BCIP), a group of libraries with stand-alone,…

Deals with the reasons why so many "services to the disadvantaged" and other innovative projects end up being disadvantaged services. (Author)

This study examined current information retrieval strategies used by online searchers involved in psychological research. A survey was distributed in fall 1988 to 200 database coordinators at institutions of higher education throughout the United States to obtain information on the databases accessed and use of multi-database options. The response…

This digest discusses advantages and disadvantages of CD-ROM use in libraries and information centers and lists features of three CD-ROM versions of the ERIC database--Dialog OnDisc ERIC, OCLC Search CD450, and SilverPlatter ERIC. Brief descriptions of these products focus on the differences among them, including equipment requirements, search…

This document describes the development of computer conferencing (CC) and its role within information service communities, particularly in Finland and Sweden. CC is defined as a computer-based messaging (CBM) system providing an asynchronous communications structure for group work. It is noted that CC differs from electronic mail and that CC…

A nationwide survey of online searchers at 150 college and university libraries was conducted to explore various characteristics of this group. From a sample of 380 searchers representing 85 libraries, 201 surveys (52.9%) were returned, and 198 responses were usable. Variables examined include online training, searcher experience, professional…

A survey of 200 Iowa rural public libraries serving a population of less than 2,500 was conducted in 1984 to determine reference service characteristics. A total of 137 libraries responded to a survey modeled after a questionnaire developed by Bernard Vavrek for a 1981 nationwide survey. It was found that the number of full-time staff members was…

An information desk was added to the public services area of the Ward Edwards Library at Central Missouri State University as a pilot project. The project started at the beginning of the fall semester of 1988, and statistics were kept during the trial period to determine whether this added access point enhanced reference service. The desk was…

This report describes a 1986 survey of procedures and priorities at Indiana University and Purdue University regional campus libraries designed to aid the librarians at the Walter E. Helmke Library at Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne, in re-evaluating various library procedures. Responses were received from nine of the 11 libraries…

This research report presents the results of a survey of public libraries that serve areas where populations are 25,000 or fewer individuals. The long range goal of the study was to gather data that would help to initially describe some of the circumstances in which and because of which rural information services exist and endure. Questionnaires…