Five articles describe specific Internet resources, including geoscience and science databases; economic and statistical information; the JANET (Joint Academic Network) Bulletin Board for Librarians; and White House communications. A sixth article describes how practical applications of Internet information create new roles for reference…

Describes a survey of academic librarians that investigated issues relating to CD-ROM indexes, including print index cancellations; cost versus other factors in cancellations; database vendors' charging structure; CD-ROM durability; student preference for CD-ROM over print; and effective use without librarian assistance. (22 references) (LRW)

Analyzes the attitudes that humanistic students and scholars typically display toward information technology and discusses the effect they have on bibliographic instruction. Highlights include information needs versus available technology; needs assessment; necessary concepts and skills; search strategies; searching skills; and instructional…

Examines changes in the nature of historical work and discusses the relationships between library, historian, and computer technology. Topics addressed include electronic publishing; electronic mail; electronic journals; electronic books and libraries; workstations for scholars; hypertext; current and future applications in history; and history…

CyberStacks(sm), a demonstration prototype World Wide Web information service, was established on the home page server at Iowa State University with the intent of facilitating identification and use of significant Internet resources in science and technology. CyberStacks(sm) was created in response to perceived deficiencies in early efforts to…

This discussion of the availability of information sources and resources to students in higher education and continuing education argues that extension education and distance education will become increasingly prevalent because people change jobs more frequently and require additional skills and knowledge for those jobs. Many institutions assume…

This report on options for developing the University of California (UC) MELVYL online library system discusses the system in relationship to the current environment, including national and network information resources, electronic publishing, campus libraries, and changing user expectations; and places the growth of the MELVYL system in the…

This report presents a summary of activities, findings, and recommendations from Phase I of a project to improve the effectiveness of academic health science libraries and their provision of information services. The objectives for Phase I of the project are given: (1) to identify academic health science library requirements in the areas of…

The six papers in this collection address as many different topics. In "Circulation Desk Staff Amiability and Patron Satisfaction," Laureen Cardon and Nathan M. Smith describe a study at Brigham Young University which demonstrated that interpersonal relations training for circulation desk staff could improve patron satisfaction. Anna L.…

Reserve readings are a special collection in the university library, established by a professor to support a particular class. A recent study at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill found enthusiasm among current reserve users for an electronic reserve system (Petersen, 1996). The study described in this paper examined the reasons some…

Provides an overview of research conducted at Victoria University of Wellington regarding differing perceptions and expectations of user communities and librarians related to the usability of digital services. Considers access to services, currency of information on the Web site, the online public access catalog, databases, electronic journals,…

Discusses collection management in academic libraries in light of computer-mediated access to remote electronic databases and online resources. Topics include the library collection, ownership of versus access to information, the selection process, collection evaluation, collection development policies, materials budget, serials, and user liaison.…

Describes the effects of economic factors on information services in Mexico. Topics discussed include librarians' salaries; inadequate library budgets; acquisitions in academic libraries; the development of public libraries; library networks; national databases; microcomputers and library automation; library research; effects of devaluation; and…

Discussion of the use of CD-ROM databases for end-user searching versus online database searching in academic libraries focuses on a comparison of two databases, "Psychological Abstracts" and "Sociological Abstracts," that were searched in both formats. Factors of response time, coverage, content, and cost were investigated for…

Discussion of the cost effectiveness of searching online versus searching on CD-ROM highlights an example that compares costs for searching the ERIC database. Fixed costs and variable costs are described, labor costs are examined, implications for management are considered, and the effect of the number of databases and workstations is discussed.…