Since public libraries contain copyrighted works in the form of print, electronic or audiovisual sources, librarians and library paraprofessionals need to possess sufficient knowledge of United States copyright law to meet the information needs of patrons successfully and legally. A literature review revealed that minimal works address this topic.…

The online search evaluation form recommended by the Machine-Assisted Reference Section Committee on Measurement and Evaluation of Service of the American Library Association is discussed. Each of the 10 questions recommended for inclusion and questions rejected as inappropriate are analyzed. Eleven references and the Search Evaluation…

Investigated public librarians' interactions with patrons seeking geographic information with a sense-making (timeline) survey. Digital geographic data collection and information systems were utilized less in public libraries, and users had more complex needs than perceived. Explores implications for altering reference interviews and makes…

Describes an ongoing project by the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Cortland's library which seeks to facilitate the sharing of CD-ROM databases between four area SUNY college libraries over a wide area network. The resulting impact on reference services is discussed, and user surveys are appended. (Author/LRW)

Two questionnaires sent to medical librarians and users of the Core Medline/Ebsco CD-ROM disc in the Netherlands gathered data on librarians' attitudes toward the various forms in which Medline is offered--i.e., printed, online, and CD-ROM. Tables and graphs present data on product attributes, availability, use, relevance, subjects searched,…

Advocates providing automobile repair and service information in public libraries, and discusses collection development issues, reference services, and problems in making repair manuals available. Describes the collection and services for patrons in Tacoma Public Library and results of a survey of other public libraries holding automobile repair…

Systematically examines the provision of health information in Ontario's larger public libraries. The survey, which elicited a 90 percent response rate, showed that health requests accounted for about 8 percent of all reference questions. The major problems faced by public librarians in providing health information were incomplete or unclear…

Discussion of the distribution of government information on CD-ROM to federal depository libraries focuses on a survey of a sample of federal depositories that investigated the availability of hardware; software; staff, including staff training; reference service; and bibliographic instruction. Suggested GPO (Government Printing Office) guidelines…

Describes a survey of reference librarians in libraries with online public access catalogs that was conducted to determine what types of searches patrons would use to look for names of fictional characters. Name, subject, and author indexes are discussed, and implications for cataloging using the MARC format are suggested. (10 references) (LRW)

The Public Libraries Survey has been conducted annually since 1988 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) through the Federal-State Cooperative System for Public Library Data (FSCS). The survey collects identifying information and basic data on public libraries (8946 in 1992) and their outlets in the United States; identifying…

This study was designed to discover what the sources of stress are for a reference librarian working in a public library; other objectives included finding out how reference librarians manage stress and identifying their sources of job satisfaction. The study looked at many possible stress factors indicated in the literature review, such as the…

The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of presently employed documents professionals at ARL (Association of Research Libraries) libraries. A survey covering educational background; continuing education activities; organizational affiliations; documents experience; staffing; type of arrangement of the documents collection;…

This study conducted at Texas A&M University compares two types of training approaches using ERIC SilverPlatter (ERIC SP). Education students received either: (1) a one hour training session on basic search commands and strategies, or (2) a four page instructional handout that described basic search commands, Boolean logic, and special…

This report contains a series of documents from, and a summary of responses to a telephone survey of, 23 research libraries. Documents and survey responses cover services to the business community by both members and nonmembers of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Introductory materials include a summary of relevant issues, a copy of…

A role analysis study of the Margaret I. King Library reference department focused on organization of role activities, their evaluation by reference staff, and patron satisfaction. Observation, interview, and questionnaire techniques were employed to (1) obtain staff job history and academic training; (2) inventory activities from which a list of…