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| Format: | Recurso educativo Open Access |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
1992
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED358866 |
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Table of Contents:
- CD-ROMs and Users' Reactions. Chen, Yu-Hui College Faculty College Libraries Databases Graduate Students Higher Education Information Retrieval Institutional Evaluation Library Instruction Library Services Library Surveys Needs Assessment Optical Data Disks Problems Questionnaires Reference Services Search Strategies Tables (Data) Undergraduate Students Use Studies Users (Information) Users of optical data disk (CD-ROM) materials at the Main Library workstations of the State University of New York at Albany were surveyed to examine the problems they encountered while conducting their searches, identify factors that interfere with their task performance, determine their needs with regard to improvement in the databases they used, and evaluate the CD-ROM search service provided by the reference department. Data were gathered using a 12-item questionnaire completed by 200 non-repeat users (4 faculty members, 104 graduate students, 1 staff member, and 91 undergraduates) affiliated with the university. Results indicate that patrons made little use of workshops that the university had provided to introduce CD-ROM, and that they tended to request assistance rather than use the database search guides at the workstations. Graduate students were inclined to make better preparation for their searches than were undergraduates, but only a few patrons used Boolean logic to formulate their search statements. The responses and comments from searchers provide valuable information that library personnel can use to improve service. Twenty-one tables present study data, and an appendix lists some user suggestions. (Contains 12 references.) (SLD)