Describes a method of cost-per-use analysis for individual journal articles to facilitate journal selection, deselection, and retention decisions. Conducted in a biotechnology library, the study was based on 491 users who requested more than 48,000 article photocopies over 3 years. Information on user behavior and journal use patterns is provided.…

Describes a study that was conducted to provide information on the extent of bibliographic instruction in curriculum materials centers (CMCs) or related library/media collections designed for the use of prospective teachers and teacher educators. The study paid particular attention to instruction in the use of online public catalogs. (30…

Discussion of mass media use by older women focuses on a study of 55 women (average age 82) that examined their perceptions of time, their preferred media, their perceptions of the role of the public library, and actual use of the public library. Implications of the results for information professionals and further research possibilities are also…

Describes factors in the current information searching environment that will affect collection emphasis, collector approaches, and user behaviors. Questions are raised about developing collections in an electronic era in terms of collection size, ownership considerations, content and selection practices, budgeting, and collection management.…

Examines how software designed to complement resource-based approaches to reading and writing ("Kid's Space") fared in four elementary classrooms. Results of the pilot study indicate that given the right conditions, children write creatively in response to visual and auditory stimuli. Effective methods of integrating and valuing online work are…

The case study method (employing direct observation and interviews) has become the primary means of investigating how secondary school and undergraduate students locate and use information in the library. This article examines and illustrates the shift from survey to case study with examples from dissertations and field studies of secondary school…

Conducts a scenario-based usability test with 10 data analysts using visual querying (visually analyzing data with interactive graphics). Details a range of difficulties found in visual selection that, at times, gave rise to inaccurate selections, invalid conclusions, and misguided decisions. Argues that support for visual selection must be built…

Library staff at State University of New York at Albany surveyed 96 patrons in a 2-month period regarding their Internet usage. Gender, college status, and prior experience were sources of differences in searching and browsing behavior and in attitudes toward Internet usefulness. Libraries should actively create new Internet access points and…

According to the authors, the comments offered by Robert Manning and Ray Kirshak in this issue of the "Journal of Student Financial Aid" (pp. 39-48) are designed to leave the reader with the impression that their paper "Usage of Credit Cards Received through College Student-Marketing Programs" ("Journal of Student Financial Aid," 2004) was nothing…

This case study explores the question of whether school personnel are using the technology available to communicate effectively with the members of their communities? A plethora of communications technology is now accessible to schools, but the question remains whether it is being used to connect with the different members of one's school…

The purpose of this study is to explore the use of triad journaling as a collaborative tool for enhancing teaching and learning in a professional development school context. This study employed descriptive case study methodology (Merriam, 1998) in an effort to capture the content, complexity, and interactive nature of the participants' journaling.…

In this paper we argue that the use of audit trail data for research and evaluation purposes has attracted scepticism due to real and perceived difficulties associated with the data's interpretation. We suggest that educational technology researchers and evaluators need to better understand how audit trail data can be processed and analysed…

This study was conducted in the framework of a project that sought to change the school learning and teaching environment and adapt it to current reality through the proactive use of technology in the search for knowledge. It is an exploratory, longitudinal, case study of a single school, in one city in central Israel, which examines changes in…

This study examined what factors contribute to the implementation of technology in the classroom. Specific research questions were: (1) What is the relationship between gender and amount of technology use in the classroom? (2) What is the relationship between years of teaching experience and amount of technology use in the classroom? (3) What is…

National survey data are used to address questions about the centralization and decentralization of decision making about computer use in American schools. Settings in which centralization and decentralization in decisions about computers are greatest are considered. The consequences of alternative decision-making structures are also considered,…