This study developed an analytical approach to detecting groups with homogenous usage patterns in a Web-based information system. Principal component analysis was used for data reduction, cluster analysis for categorizing usage into groups. The methodology was demonstrated and tested using two independent samples of user sessions from the…

The purpose of this study was to assess usability of an academic library Web site and to better understand how faculty and students complete typical tasks using one. Despite their success in completing the tasks, participants experienced difficulties in knowing where to start and with the site's information architecture-in particular while…

This longitudinal study examined the library use patterns of 1,046 undergraduate students during their first three years of college. The significant changes in library use patterns have implications for the redesign of academic library services, including reference and bibliographic instruction. (Author/LRW)

Reviews the literature on scholarly journal demand, use, and readership over the past 40 to 50 years. Discusses: journal demand; journal use; use of separate copies of articles; readership of articles; time and cost of reading; usefulness and value of article information; information-seeking patterns; age of articles read; factors affecting…

German teachers' use of DVDs, purchased abroad, has become increasingly difficult through restrictions imposed by the motion pictures industry on DVDs, DVD-playing equipment and software. In addition, the law, in particular through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), has imposed restrictions that negatively affect the fair use of digital…

This study aimed at analyzing complex relationships among Internet use, Internet users, and conceptual understanding of the Internet. It used path models to examine factors related to Internet use (duration of Internet use, frequency of Internet use, and informal Internet classes) and Internet users (age and gender) in affecting understanding of…

Based on a questionnaire to academic staff, this article examines the reading and writing tasks assigned to undergraduate science students at a South African university. The article finds that although academic staff in science value clearly written and well-organised writing, few see it as their task to induct students into this literacy. Instead…

This article reports the results of a survey of cell phone policies in university libraries conducted over a three-month period in 2005. The authors sought information about the libraries' problems regarding cell phone use and attendant noise by students and other library users. The authors began with an 18-question survey of one hundred…

The use of 200 public libraries in New York City was analyzed according to their neighborhood characteristics. In addition to demographic, economic, and cultural factors traditionally considered, the social and spatial interactions within a neighborhood were related to public library use. Correlation and regression analyses were implemented for…

A major determinant of the success of educational intranet sites is their usability. In addition to measures of task performance and navigation behavior, psychometric instruments are used to evaluate usability and the quality of human-computer interaction more generally. However, there is a lack of validated instruments for the evaluation of…

Technology-savvy instructors often require students to create Web pages or videos, tasks that require finding materials such as images, music, or text on the Web, reusing them, and then republishing them in a technique that author Howard Pitler calls "remixing." However, this requires both the student and the instructor to deal with often thorny…

The evaluation of virtual community usage and user behaviour has its roots in social science approaches such as interview, document analysis and survey. Little evaluation is carried out using traffic or protocol analysis. Business approaches to evaluating customer/business web site usage are more advanced, in particular using advanced web…

This article reports a small-scale study into the functions of the plenary session. It offers information about the ways that plenary sessions are being understood and implemented in one school, and offers an example of the usefulness of small-scale, school-based projects for enhancing reflectiveness and sharing perspectives among a staff group.…

Over five years ago the author began his "TechTrends" column, then titled "E-Learning by Design," with a self interview. In that first column he interviewed himself on how he came to develop the Study Guides and Strategies (SGS) Website www.studygs.net. This educational public service and resource now contains 120 topics (200 English webpages) in…

In the spring of 2005, the University of Denver's Penrose Library conducted a survey of its users to determine their degree of awareness of electronic books, how and why they use them, and their level of satisfaction with the format. It is clear from vendor-supplied usage statistics that electronic books are used, but it is not clear how or why…