Although scholarship has addressed issues around serving international students in U.S. and Canadian libraries, reports on how Chinese graduate students use information in Chinese universities, especially for a particular discipline, are rare. In this study, the author interviewed 15 graduate students and researchers in a top-ranked chemistry…

The absence of a well-defined space for library resources within course-management systems has been well documented in library literature. Academic libraries have sought to remedy this deficiency in numerous ways. This article describes how a "library nugget," or module, was added to the Buffalo State College course-management system,…

The year 2011 was the PALNI (Private Academic Library Network of Indiana) consortium's "rookie season" for the implementation of Primo, the 2010 Discovery Layer 500 race winner. In this article, the authors report on their transition to the cloud within Ex Libris Ltd.'s Primo TotalCare environment: their preparation, the steps involved…

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a quantitative analysis exploring the interaction and relationship between the online database and electronic journal collections at the J. N. Desmarais Library of Laurentian University. A very strong relationship exists between the number of searches and the size of the online database…

Libraries are not so unlike market giants Netflix, Amazon, and Pandora. Despite their significantly different business models and missions, they share an interest in facilitating the search for information, including what to read, view, and listen to next. Librarians, too, want their patrons to be able to use their tools to make connections among…

Meta-analysis is a technique used in a variety of disciplines to combine and summarize the findings of previous research. One step in the production of a meta-analysis is a thorough literature search for relevant studies. A variety of methods can be used to increase the number of studies that are found. This study examines the extent to which some…

Discusses the portions of the World Wide Web that cannot be accessed via directories or search engines, explains why they can't be accessed, and offers suggestions for reference librarians to find these sites. Lists helpful resources and gives examples of invisible Web sites which are often databases. (LRW)

Considers a definition of online searching and discusses each of these factors--training, search aids, physical setting, search request form, interview and profile construction, terminal session, search evaluation, document delivery, professional reading, and online user groups. Eighteen sources are cited. (EJS)

Identifies the advantages and limitations of online search services offered by libraries, cautioning the searcher and user to consider and evaluate all options before performing online search. The librarian's responsibility to solve the user's information problem in a desirable way is discussed. Five references are listed. (EJS)

Comments based on actual reference use of Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN II)--formerly BALLOTS--in a library environment focus on RLIN files, interlibrary loan, search keys, and subject searches. This article updates a description of BALLOTS as it was developed by Stanford University to support cataloging and acquisitions (Online,…

Describes the use of CD-ROM products containing company and industrial information for job searches and career planning. Examples of potential applications are provided, and search capabilities are examined. Brief descriptions of several products are presented, including a database of Security and Exchange Commission filings, Disclosure, Lotus One…

This policy manual explains computer search services at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, University Library. The service is available to anyone willing to assume the cost of the services and able to schedule time for both the search strategy interview and the search itself. Requests for computer services are not accepted over the phone or…

The purpose of this Manual is to provide the detailed information needed by users of the Cataloging Data Search and Print Service for day-to-day operation. It contains: (1) introduction and background information, (2) availability and initiating procedures, (3) instructions for filling out the cataloging data request form, (4) keypunch…

Summarizes methods of searching currently available for OCLC, provides list of questions that can be answered with terminal (monographic series, mock subject searching, bibliography, government documents, serials, microforms, music, birth/death dates, corporate bodies, name authority, variant editions, artistic transpositions), and demonstrates…

Query forms used in library information systems are expressed in a generalized notation. Three relations, the FIELD, the inverse FIELD and the RECORD, are defined to express file access operations in known-item and subject searches, browsing, clustering operations, and truncation and word proximity searching. Eighteen references are cited. (EJS)