Demonstrates the application of a marketing technique, conjoint analysis, to the measurement of users' preferences for service patterns in an academic library. Eight references are cited. (FM)

Two knowledge-based systems (KBS) are compared and contrasted; a test, based on 15 typical United States government document reference questions about the federal level of government, measured correct responses and keystroke efficiency. Concludes that there is a need for improvement of KBS in the government information field. (Author/AEF)

Discussion of reference question negotiation by librarians focuses on a study at the Orem (Utah) Public Library that was conducted to determine how frequently the reference staff negotiated questions, how frequently negotiated questions received correct answers, and what verbal and nonverbal communication skills led to correct answers. (five…

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…

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…

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…

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…

This survey of online search service centers in Canada was conducted to provide data on these centers and, more specifically, on the characteristics of the human search intermediary; and to provide an accurate overall picture of online searching in Canada. The survey questionnaires were mailed to approximately 765 Canadian customers of seven…

This study, which focused on the extent to which Lake Forest College (Illinois) students were aware of library reference services, used interviews and a revised version of a survey used elsewhere. Findings showed student awareness to be relatively high, and that the methodology would work well in other undergraduate settings. (Author/EM)

Human intermediation is the central issue for information professionals who have been striving to provide better services in ever-changing environments. This document reports on an empirical study of human intermediation to explore patterns of relationships between user situations and tasks they request of intermediaries using the AskERIC Q&A…

Describes a survey that was conducted at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville library to count and categorize the types of questions coming into the reference department from telephone calls. Informational and directional calls are examined, implications for staffing are considered, and queuing theory is applied. (seven references) (LRW)

Summarizes Carol Kuhlthau's research on the information search process. Discusses how Kuhlthau's model of students' information search process (ISP) has been integrated into a course at Arizona State University and is being used experimentally as a training tool in the library's reference services. Selected student responses to research process…

This report includes national and state summary data on public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with an introduction, selected findings, and tables. The report is based on data from the Public Libraries Survey for fiscal year 2005, and includes information on service measures such as number of users of electronic resources,…