Reviews recent literature on the use of technology in libraries by children and young adults. Highlights include the effectiveness of interactive information retrieval systems; children's use of card catalogs versus online catalogs; skills needed for success in using library catalogs; children's abilities to formulate searchable queries; and the…

Provides an overview of digital libraries research, practice, and literature. Highlights include new technologies; redefining roles; historical background; trends; creating digital content, including conversion; metadata; organizing digital resources; services; access; information retrieval; searching; natural language processing; visualization;…

To examine the impact of transitioning 4th grade reading comprehension assessments to the computer, 219 fourth graders were randomly assigned to take a one-hour reading comprehension assessment on paper, on a computer using scrolling text to navigate through passages, or on a computer using paging text to navigate through passages. This study…

Introduction: The Internet has radically changed the global availability of scholarly publications. Today, a substantial part of the resources accessible for researchers and university students are offered through electronic site licenses, making the supply of easily obtainable information larger than ever. This brings forth an important question:…

The current paper examines the design process that led to an unusually successful interactive tutorial for older people. The paper describes the issues that make designing for older people different. These include differences between the designer and the target population and the difficulty that older people have in interacting with low-fidelity…

In an effort to comply with the Matriculation Plan of the Santa Clarita Community College District, in California, the College of the Canyons (COC) conducted a study to determine student satisfaction with COC's matriculation services. Survey instruments were administered to a representative sample of 1,255 students in 31 courses during normal…

This report presents the findings of a June, 1996, survey of computing officials at 660 two- and four-year colleges and universities across the United States concerning the use of computer technology on college campuses. The survey found that instructional integration and user support emerged as the two most important information technology (IT)…

The purpose of this study was to explore variables related to characteristics of high school students using computer-mediated communication (CMC) technology. Student characteristics are explored with respect to gender, academic self-concept, parental education, skill and experience with technology, communication apprehension, and social influence.…

A study was conducted of the facilities, collection, and services of the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music Library at Kent State University (Ohio). A survey of 130 students (response rate of about 32.5 percent) identified users of the library, how they use it, and the extent to which the library meets users' needs. Overall, 73 percent of the…

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…

The work reported in this paper is part of an ongoing qualitative study of faculty uses of the Internet at the University of Georgia. The goal of the study is to categorize the functions of "class pages" (i.e., World Wide Web sites that have been personally developed by instructors to support traditional face-to-face classes) from both…

This goal of this project was to create a public school district World Wide Web site that staff and community members would use more frequently. The project included three solutions. First, 33 one-on-one and small-group training sessions were conducted to increase awareness and improve Web services. A Web-site advisory committee, which developed…

An evaluation was made of the training needs of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Italy and the potential of open, distance, flexible, and multimedia learning to meet those needs. The methodology included contacts with training providers, governmental institutions, and SMEs and circulation of…

The purpose of this study was to determine factors that influence middle and high school students' use of public libraries, the type of materials they use, and the frequency with which students use public libraries compared to the students' use of school library media centers. A questionnaire was used as the data gathering instrument. It was…

Part of the postsecondary educational system in Canada, community colleges offer several types of programs to both students leaving the secondary system and adults who want occupational training or education in the applied arts and human service professions. Like other educational institutions, these two-year colleges have sought to use new…