A library survey was conducted during February 1983 to ascertain the characteristics of the user population, user needs, and user satisfaction with library services in five science and technology libraries at the University of Texas at Austin, including the chemistry, engineering, geology, physics-mathematics-astronomy, and science libraries. A…

Argues that, although research measuring library effectiveness has tended to equate effectiveness with user satisfaction, this approach is faulty for several reasons and calls for more in-depth user needs assessment studies. (LLS)

A user survey was conducted at the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library and Study Center of New York University to collect specific data for resource planning after two and a half years of operation. A questionnaire given to a sample of students and faculty in each school provided data on library usage (how much and for what purpose), user satisfaction with…

Summarizes a 1984 survey of four presidential libraries which identified patterns of behavior within groups of researchers. Data were collected on user's academic, professional, or private affiliation; topics of study; advance preparation; and previous archival research. Findings show users of presidential libraries place high value on personal…

Maher advocates analysis of archival use, outlines methodologies for such analyses, and provides examples of results of two kinds of user studies. Turnbaugh advocates broadening the context of user studies in government archives to include all areas of activity so that the institution is embedded in the processes of government. (EM)

Surveys users of the Journalism Library at Indiana University. Discusses frequency of usage, overall evaluation of resources and services, evaluation of resources and services by department and by status, attitude toward electronically delivered articles, and reasons for using the library. (SR)

This collection of library documents, which illustrates current techniques for conducting user studies in order to facilitate specific public services planning and priority-setting efforts at the member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), contains excerpts from: (1) four general user studies conducted at the University of…

At the request of the Chief Officers of the State Library Agencies, the Gallup Organization, Inc. studied attitudes and behavior concerning the use of public libraries in America and reported their findings. In the first phase of this national survey, 1,561 adult men and women were asked their sources of information; the extent to which the…

Discusses a secondary analysis of a user survey from 13 public libraries to isolate factors that contribute to high levels of performance by reference librarians and to identify reliable indicators that can be used to measure and evaluate reference services. Examined user ratings of reference services by transaction type, either self-generated or…

One of the two major ways of interpreting LibQUAL+[TM] data involves placing perceived service quality ratings within "zones of tolerance" defined as the distances between minimally-acceptable and desired service quality levels. This study compared zones of tolerance on the 25 LibQUAL+[TM] items across undergraduate, graduate student and…

A survey at the University at Albany (New York) on user satisfaction with reference services gathered information on behavioral characteristics of librarians: interest, confidence, friendliness, and enthusiasm, as well as on patron comfort and overall satisfaction. Analysis of the data (n=100) indicates that user satisfaction depends on more than…

This user survey was part of a three-part diagnostic study that sought to obtain information on how public libraries operate in Latin America (Argentina, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Venezuela) and the Caribbean (Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, and Surinam) and the social role performed by this type of service in the region.…

Ninety-one randomly selected users of the University of Oregon map library were surveyed in a term project to determine user characteristics and opinions, and results were compared with a 1972 survey. Data were collected on user status, fields of study, reasons for use, frequency and time of use, type of materials used, and satisfaction with…

Modelling its self-study on earlier document availability research by Saracevic, Shaw, and Kantor, the Periodical Department of the William Paterson College Library (Wayne, New Jersey), evaluated service to its patrons. Specially modified and coded periodical request forms were collected from a sample of patrons who requested periodicals from the…

This report describes a survey conducted in 1979 to determine user response to SCORPIO, part of the Library of Congress Information System (LOCIS) consisting of online catalogs that are used directly by the public and are integrated with regular reference services. A questionnaire distributed to 123 users of this system asked about types of users,…