The report examines patron characteristics and use patterns of the New York Public Library Research Libraries. A general user survey was conducted as well as surveys of the use of the Photographic Service, Special Collections, Special Study Areas, and Reference Correspondence Service. Chapter I is a summary of principal findings and conclusions.…

A descriptive study was conducted employing questionnaires distributed to users and staff members. The adequacy of informational and instructional staff performances, their attitude toward patrons, and the relative proportions of reference and nonreference questions were explored. It was recommended to the staff that methods of performance…

The Metropolitan Cooperative Library System in California is a group of 17 autonomous community libraries which have joined together to provide better services to their patrons. This survey of the reference resources and services of the system was conducted by personal interviews at each of the member libraries. The focus is upon reader oriented…

In order to measure the effectiveness of its libraries, the City of London Polytechnic Library and Learning Resources Service surveyed its users and compared the results with a study completed the previous year (1973). Tables and statistics have been provided for: number, type, status, and academic department of users; frequency of use;…

A survey of 133 academic libraries reveals that most make online bibliographic retrieval services available to off-campus clients at prices higher than those charged to primary patrons. Extra charges are not inconsequential, being approximately $15/search or 38 percent of search costs. Eight references, questionnaire, and list of online vendors…

This paper presents a discussion of what reference librarians require with regard to the bibliographic control of networked resources, based on 200 responses to a survey of U.S. reference providers and on comments made at an open meeting on this topic sponsored by the Library of Congress at the July 2000 American Library Association Annual…

No one source for locating government documents on a given subject exists. Librarians responding to a questionnaire indicated dissatisfaction with even the most used source, the Monthly Catalog''. Subject retrieval, other sources, and suggestions from librarians are discussed. (5 references) (DH)

Reports the results of an unobtrusive study, from a user's viewpoint, of reference services available in the Suffolk Cooperative Library System. The study raises questions of policy centering around user expectations of library reference services. (RAA)

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…

Presents an annotated bibliography of 33 reference items--including several CD-ROM products--published during 1991-92 that were recommended by librarians. Materials are listed in the following areas: general works; business, science, and technology; fine arts; history and genealogy; medicine and health; and social sciences and humanities. A…

Describes results of an exploratory survey that examined public library electronic mail reference services and the patrons who used them. Discusses results of print questionnaires and Web-based questionnaires that investigated user satisfaction and classified email reference questions received by public libraries. Library questionnaire and web…

This paper examines the use of paraprofessionals at reference desks in a random sample of Ohio public libraries. The assumption underlying this research is that before one can address the effectiveness of reference paraprofessionals, it is necessary to understand the extent to which they are used; the tasks they perform; and the conditions…

This report describes a survey conducted by the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) in which a questionnaire was sent to 101 research libraries in order to determine what their policies and practices were with respect to the promotion of user-access to online computerized bibliographic database services. Sixty usable responses were…

An appendix to a study that attempts to measure the service capabilities of public libraries, either in relation to the needs of their communities or to the standards adopted by the profession. (Author)

This pilot study was conducted to evaluate the telephone reference service of a university library. Questions were called in by volunteers to several different divisions of the library to try to determine: (a) factual accuracy of responses, (b) level of interviewing by the staff person, and (c) attitude of the staff person. Results of the study…