The results of personal interviews with 18 of the more experienced online searchers in Washington State are presented. A profile of respondents determines the experience of each in searching in years, number of searches per month, vendors used, and most used data bases. This information is used to analyze the answers given to questions about the…

As a continuation of research into online public access catalog systems (OPAC's), this study focused on the actual use of OPAC's and on refinement of the methodologies used in carrying out transaction analysis studies. Current patron use patterns were obtained via machine-readable catalogs from four online public catalog systems: The Library of…

This research is concerned with the pragmatic performance characteristics of competing information technologies (ITs) and services in the university research center, as measured by user demand and choice. Technologies and services studied include: (1) mediated search service operating at cost recovery, open to all; (2) end-user service collecting…

To investigate the experience of American and Canadian university libraries with remote access catalogs, self-administered questionnaires were sent to the 137 directors of all Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries and all libraries of Canadian degree-granting institutions. The study was designed to: (1) survey Canadian and U.S.…

This report describes a computer-monitoring study of users of the Ohio State University Libraries' online catalog, an established and heavily used information retrieval system. Designed for end users, online library catalogs require little or no formal training, and often replace an existing manual system. Data were gathered unobtrusively by…

Explores issues surrounding efforts to introduce online catalogs to users and presents relevant research results from Northwestern University's "Educating the Online Catalog User" project. Highlights include attitudes and preconceptions about online catalogs and instruction, research on online catalog use, suggestions for online catalog teaching,…

Describes a study which compared patron success in finding the same group of titles in the online catalog and the card catalog in two department libraries at Ohio State University. Reasons for patron success and failure with the online catalog are outlined and discussed. Five data tables are included. (Author/JL)

Reports on a two-phase study of academic libraries to identify patterns of database use and the factors that might influence this use. Online data was used as well as results from a survey that investigated factors that may influence online use, including level of instruction and availability of remote access. (LRW)

This study focuses on the growth of the library automation market from 1981 to 1990. It draws on library automation data published annually in the Library Journal between 1981 and 1990. The data are used to examine: (1) the overall library system market trends based on the total and cumulative number of systems installed and revenue generated; (2)…

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,…

In 1981 and 1982, a group of 5 organizations conducted a coordinated study of public online catalog users and nonusers in 31 research, academic, community college, public, and governmental libraries with 17 different online catalogs. It was found that: (1) the most important user characteristic linked with success and satisfaction in using online…

To study the users and use of the subject searching capability offered by the new online public catalog at the New York State Library (NYSL) a study was begun before the catalog change in mid-1983 and continued for a considerable time after the change. Data were collected during three 1-week periods; one preceded the catalog change and two…

This report focuses on a discussion of findings from analyses of computer transaction logs contributed by four of the online catalog systems used in the Public Access Project. It supplements the analyses of User and Non-User Questionnaires by providing analyses of data from the systems themselves. The four systems contributing data to this…

The Subject Access Research Project was initiated by OCLC in August 1979 to study the process of subject searching in the library catalog, with the objective of identifying features for an automated subject retrieval system which would support the present search tactics employed by library users performing manual subject searches at the library…

As part of a project which evaluated online public access catalogs (OPAC's) through analyses of library patrons' needs and perceptions, self-administered questionnaires were completed by library patrons who were OPAC users and non-users at nine academic and public libraries. Focus group interviews were conducted with OPAC users and non-users, as…