As more of commerce, entertainment, communication, and learning are occurring over the Web, the amount of data online activities generate is skyrocketing. Commercial entities have led the way in developing techniques for harvesting insights from this mass of data for use in identifying likely consumers of their products, in refining their products…

The purpose of this research project was to develop techniques for analyzing user searches of the Syracuse University Libraries Information Retrieval Systems (SULIRS) to enable library staff to identify and test potentially high payoff modifications to the system and/or to user documentation. The first task was an exploratory analysis of recorded…

This report presents an information needs assessment for an office automation plan to be undertaken for the School Building Services Branch of the Alberta Department of Education. This exercise complements the work of two senior committees within the Department: (1) the Electronic Information Processing Needs Study Steering Committee, and (2) the…

This report presents results from Phase 1 of the British Columbia Library Network (BCLN) Project, which included the installation and evaluation of a comprehensive library cataloging system using the University of Victoria Computing Center IBM 4341 computer. Evaluation included actual use of the system, performance and cost studies, feature and…

Reports the results of a national survey of online systems in academic libraries which gathered information on acquisitions, serials, circulation, cataloging, interlibrary loan, and integrated systems. The results include relationships between library characteristics, such as size, and library reports of present systems and future plans, methods…

This report presents consultants' recommendations for the statewide collection and entry in the OCLC database of bibliographic data on New York state newspapers as part of a national United States newspaper cataloging project. The consulting team was asked to focus principally on two activities: first, the newspaper collection of the New York…

Describes a study undertaken by San Jose State University of business-related ready reference searches done at that library. The results suggest that within certain restrictions of patron questions, librarian training, search cost, and the database, ready reference online searches can be the most cost effective approach to providing business…

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…

Data processing was introduced to public libraries in Hawaii in 1973 with a feasibility study which outlined the candidate areas for automation. Since then, the Office of Library Services has automated the order procedures for one of the largest book processing centers for public libraries in the country; created one of the first COM…

From January 1980 through December 1982 the Illinois Valley Library System (IVLS) and 33 of its participating libraries conducted an experimental project to test the costs and benefits of OCLC use in small and medium-sized libraries. This report, one of eight describing the results of the OCLC Experimental Project, examines interlibrary loan…

To learn first hand how the libraries of North Carolina, especially public libraries, function in spite of budget cuts, a hearing was held in Lumberton (North Carolina) to hear the testimony of interested parties from the state and national levels and specifically from the congressional district of southeastern North Carolina. While library…

The scope of this study, which was designed to provide information for use in redesigning the interlibrary loan (ILL) system in New York State, was to provide an overview of the ILL structure and patterns in the state; collect and analyze statistical data on ILL in the state and evaluate the performance of the NYSILL (New York State Interlibrary…

The impact of electronic commerce (e-commerce) on Australia's National Training Framework (NTF) was studied for the purpose of forecasting future demand for training in areas related to e-commerce and identifying appropriate responses by the NTF committee. The following were among the study's main data collection activities: reviews of the…