Helping school, district, and/or community leaders facilitate discussions with community members about improving schools, this guide discusses how to use informal focus groups to gather information about what is important to people in the school community. The guide helps users gather information in a systematic way, organize what they hear,…

Children of all ages are more likely to use electronic sources of information such as television and radio rather than print sources such as newspapers and magazines, according to a variety of studies. A study examined whether this tendency continued if the children were forced by their primary and secondary school teachers to use multiple news…

The State of Mississippi authorized the construction of additions to three of the state's academic libraries. At the University of Southern Mississippi, planning for an addition raised the question of assignable study space. Lockable individual study rooms (carrels) and group study rooms were planned, and questions of how to assign them and rules…

In response to 1986 state legislation calling for improvements in college effectiveness and accountability, the California Community Colleges began various efforts to promote the evaluation of matriculation. One effort, the Matriculation Local Research Options Project, was formed in 1989 to develop models for local evaluation of matriculation and…

This article discusses psychophysical aspects of color perception and critically examines the advice on color use in screen design found in non-empirical literature. There are four main characteristics of color: hue, brightness, saturation, and contrast. In multimedia screen design, color can be used to link logically-related data; differentiate…

The purpose of this study was to assess the need for talking book services by blind or physically handicapped Native Americans residing on reservations in Montana. The Blackfeet Reservation, with a Native American population of approximately 7,000, and the Rocky Boy Reservation, with a Native American population of 2,400, were selected for the…

This report was prepared in response to a request for information on supercomputers and high-speed networks from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The following information was requested: (1) examples of how various industries are using supercomputers to…

The purpose of this four phase quasi-experimental study was to determine if putting selected books into a display controlled by a theme in a school media center would: (1) increase the circulation of the display books; (2) cause an increase in the circulation of the entire collection; and (3) encourage children to read a type of book they did not…

This paper discusses methodologies which allow in-depth exploration of usage patterns and preferences in screen-based computer-mediated communication (CMC). The paper, which focuses on usage by the general public, is divided into five parts. The first part discusses the growth trends and special characteristics of CMC in comparison to other…

The researchers investigated the intensity of computer lab use by a broad representation of students at their university. The purpose was to ascertain adequacy of computer laboratory hardware, software, and hours of access. Additionally, the researchers needed to answer a social policy question, and wished to determine who was making most use of…

This report presents results of a survey of 600 postsecondary schools concerning their use of the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). NSLDS was developed to improve the quality and accessibility of student financial aid data, to reduce the burden on schools of administering the Department of Education's student financial aid programs, and…

This manual has been designed as a practical guide to quantifying and measuring the results, or outputs, of public library service to children. The basic output measures presented are tailored to reflect library services to children (defined as persons 14 years old and younger) and their care givers. Six categories of measures are presented: (1)…

Arguing that recommended lists for hospital libraries are too general, this use study evaluated the journal collection of a small hospital library. It is noted that the literature on use studies indicates that, with the availability of resources through computer searches, interlibrary loans, consortiums and networks, journal evaluation is no…

Most institutions of higher education have a mission that specifically addresses three areas: instruction, research, and service. The repertoire of activities and the complexity of the goals of the University Library mirror the goals of the institution, the academic units, and the faculty. The clients of the library are the students, the faculty,…

This study explores beginning elementary teachers' instructional computer use, with emphasis on the ways in which these teachers use the computer, influences on these uses, and the impact of these uses on their teaching and socialization into the profession. A qualitative case study research design, drawing on ethnographic methods, was used to…