A survey of 430 users of online catalog at Ohio State University Libraries found that most users are undergraduate students (68 percent) and that majority (95 percent) choose online catalog as first source of information. Fewer performed known-item searches and success rates were generally higher than reported in earlier studies. (8 references)…

This paper provides basic information on searching the Internet and lists World Wide Web sites containing resources for American Indian education. Comprehensive and topical Web directories, search engines, and meta-search engines are briefly described. Search strategies are discussed, and seven Web sites are listed that provide more advanced…

Describes a demonstration student-oriented information retrieval system developed at Indiana University that works on a data file of MARC records. Background and implementation, searching and printing features (command structure, fields), and use of the system in an information science course are highlighted. Four references are included. (EJS)

Describes how the Technical Library at Texaco Chemical Company conducts a course in the use of the library and the chemical literature therein. Suggestions are then given on how academia could most thoroughly prepare students to utilize the information available to them in an industrial setting. (Author/JN)

Forty end-users with individual information problems from an academic environment were observed, interacting with six professional intermediaries searching on their behalf in large operational systems. Conceptual categories of users' reasons for assigning particular value ratings on the value of search results and relationships between these…

Discussion of problems that users have with Web searching focuses on a study of undergraduates that investigated three instructional methods (instruction by example, conceptual models without illustrations, and conceptual models with illustrations) to determine differences in knowledge acquisition related to three types of knowledge (declarative,…

Researchers studying subject searching distributed an online questionnaire to users who access the University of California's online public access catalog, MELVYL, from public access terminals in the libraries of the University of California at Santa Cruz. This article discusses the results of transaction log analysis, comparison of in-library and…

Discusses results of a usability study at the University of Illinois Chicago that investigated whether Internet search engines have influenced the way students search library Web sites. Results show students use the Web site's internal search engine rather than navigating through the pages; have difficulty interpreting library terminology; and…

Describes an experiment conducted at the University of Illinois at Chicago that was designed to determine whether adding a substantial number of subject headings would raise circulation rates. The effects of added contents notes, keyword searching, browsing, and displays on the online catalog are examined, and further research is suggested. (27…

Student requests for online searching often show that faculty members have suggested inappropriate searches. A survey of faculty that examined their use of online searching in research and their communications to students about this research method is described, and ways in which librarians might improve the situation are suggested. The…

Discussion of database searching by end-users versus mediated searching by library staff focuses on a user survey conducted at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to determine reasons for end-user searching and mediated searching. Search expertise, cost factors, and time constraints are discussed as influences on search strategies. (LRW)

Describes a study that examined subject searchers' use of a display of terms related to their topics as provided through online display of authority information from Library of Congress subject headings. The need to encourage searcher use of available syndetic structures is discussed. (17 references) (Author/CLB)

Describes a study that asked college students to compare CD-ROM and print versions of ERIC, PsycLit, and the Business Periodicals Index. The findings indicate that students found the CD-ROM versions to be faster and easier to use. Search strategies employed by students and the extent to which they required assistance are also discussed. (four…

Describes a study of undergraduates that examined differences in computer screen formats and their effects on search time and strategy. Row, diagonal, and column information formats are compared, as well as tightly packed and loosely packed displays, and results of regression and residual analyses are discussed. (38 references) (LRW)

Describes ways in which databases can be used in economics and business education classes. Explores arguments put forth by advocates for the use of databases in the classroom. Offers information on British software and discusses six online database systems listing the features of each. (KO)