This overview of the status of online databases in the United Kingdom describes online users' attitudes and practices in light of two surveys conducted in the past two years. The Online Information Centre at ASLIB sampled 325 users, and Chadwyck-Healey, Ltd., conducted a face-to-face survey of librarians in a broad cross-section of 76 libraries.…

The use of online searching by reference librarians to provide actual answers and not just bibliographies or current awareness printouts has the potential to save time and money for the reference department. The quick reference service can actually promote rather than compete with the library's online search service for in depth subject searching.…

The first part of the annual automation marketplace survey examines minicomputer systems in libraries. Highlights include vendor consolidation and acquisitions; system interconnection; networked databases; products related to the Americans with Disabilities Act; multimedia; vendor installations worldwide; academic versus public library…

Discusses institution of public access microcomputers in Adult Continuing Education Department of Forsyth County Public Library, noting three goals and how they are being met--computer literacy, information/instruction, and development of a local educational opportunity database. A list of books and magazines used in the computer center is…

This paper presents the history, current status, and future development of eIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries Direct)--a large-scale project run by the Soros Foundations Network and the Open Society Institute. The project aims to provide libraries in developing countries with access to a menu of electronic information resources. In 1999,…

Assesses results of questionnaire survey of 150 users of National Library of Australia's ERIC Selective Dissemination of Information Services established in 1974. Topics covered include user opinions, communication between service and users, Australian material inclusion, retrospective searches, online searches, other ERIC users, document back-up,…

Describes a study conducted at the Utah State University library that investigated electronic database awareness and use by 856 administrators and teaching faculty. Responses to a survey revealed the need for greater publicity regarding new electronic acquisitions, training opportunities, and methods of remote access. (Author/LRW)

Papers on official publications (government documents), automation, and electronic publishing, which were presented at the 1983 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference, include: (1) "The Automation of Documentation as It Relates to Official Publications and Its Importance in a Developing Country" by Ahmed…

Eight articles describing online retrieval service use in schools include: an overview based on a 1986 survey; descriptions of DIALOG; Dow Jones News/Retrieval Service, and BRS services for schools, and Pennsylvania's online library network; online training for library media specialists; and a selected annotated bibliography of online in schools.…

It is noted that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and libraries have a mutual mission: the collection and dissemination of information in formats that are useful to the information needs of the public. This report discusses the NCES' mission statement in these terms and describes its broad-based data gathering program, which…

Special supplement to "Library Journal" and "School Library Journal" covers topics of interest to school, public, academic, and special libraries planning for automation: microcomputer use, readings in automation, online searching, databases of microcomputer software, public access to microcomputers, circulation, creating a…

Describes electronic information resources in religious and theological studies, considers the impact these tools may have on theological librarians, and discusses results of a survey of electronic tools in theological libraries that was conducted to measure the attitudes of theological librarians toward computer-aided biblical research. (35…

Considers the increase in the variety of electronic reference options in academic libraries based on surveys of ARL (Association of Research Libraries) members. Discusses online catalogs; CD-ROM databases; World Wide Web access; and changes in library instruction, including formal instruction, point-of-use instruction, and Internet instruction.…

In mid-1985, researchers contacted librarians at 23 United States and Canadian universities to determine what end-user activities were taking place with the involvement and cooperation of the library. Although most of those contacted were members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), a few non-ARL libraries known to have active end-user…

Discussion of text files and textual analysis in humanities research focuses on the results of two surveys of Research Libraries Group (RLG) academic libraries which was conducted to identify the systems used to support text files. Description of a system at the University of Michigan includes examples of screen formats, and seven sidebars…