The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether there are relationships between first-year college students' use of academic libraries and four academic outcomes: academic engagement, engagement in scholarly activities, academic skills development, and grade point average. The results of regression analyses suggest students' use of books…

When looking for ways to improve library services, we considered what data sources were readily available to us and how we could harvest and use this data. We investigated three years of chat reference statistics at Central Michigan University, a large research institution, to gain a better understanding of our patrons' chat behavior. We then…

After one year of providing virtual reference service through an instant messaging (IM) service, Binghamton University (BU) Libraries, under the purview of its Digital Reference Committee (DRC), undertook a study of collected session transcripts. The goals of this work were to determine who was using the IM service and why; if staffing for the…

An evaluation of the reference referral program at the University of California Library at Santa Barbara was conducted by a committee of the Librarians Association of the University (LAVC). This committee designed a referral form, a plan for its use, and a methodology for evaluating the program. Conclusions are complex and raise more questions…

Behavior of patrons choosing between a person sitting at a counter and one sitting at a desk at each of two reference points was observed at the reference department during remodeling at the M. D. Anderson Library of the University of Houston. Results showed a statistically relevant preference for the counter. (Author/JD)

The hypothesis that there exists a strong linear relation between reference service and library use was strongly supported by data from Northern Illinois University Library. Hourly counts of people using the reference room, total number of direction and location questions asked, and total number of reference questions asked were randomly sampled.…

A checklist of bibliographies available from the Reference Department of the Indiana State University Library was mailed to each member of the faculty and administrative staff in an effort to improve communications. The list included bibliographies which has been compiled by the library staff within the past five years. Two hundred persons (out of…

The separate undergraduate library was originated to provide students with the same quality of library services as are available in a good liberal arts college library. This paper deals with how reference librarians have used this opportunity to provide reference services for the undergraduate student. The major emphasis is on case studies of…

A survey of the faculties at six colleges was undertaken to measure the degree to which the libraries of those institutions were communicating with the faculty concerning the availability of various references services. The results demonstrated that the average faculty member was aware of barely half the services actually available. (11…

Describes a study conducted at Purdue University Library to determine not only the costs of providing online information services to users, but the value of time saved by the end user in having a computer search run and user satisfaction with the results. Six references are listed. (RBF)

Summarizes a study of the use of reference service at Sterling Memorial Library, the central research library of Yale University. (PF)

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;…

Technological developments of the past twenty years have resulted in renewed interest in book-form catalogs. Users were surveyed at two libraries to determine that their satisfaction with bibliographical data, entry points, and physical form. (17 references) (Author/DH)

Due to a shortage of staff at the Carlson Library at the University of Toledo, user access to the documents collection outside of the normally staffed hours has depended on the resourcefulness of the user. A survey showed that users were unfamiliar with access procedures. In order to make documents more readily available, the staff developed a…

Based on a survey of 160 Texas college and university libraries, this study reports on their access to and usage of 3 online information retrieval systems: Bibliographic Retrieval Services (BRS), Lockheed's DIALOG Information Services, and System Development Corporation's ORBIT Information Retrieval System. The study finds that 24 percent of all…