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Objective ‐ To investigate the types of questions students ask and the language they use invirtual reference. It is hoped that this examination will provide understanding of students’ needs and thus improve/enhance library services.Methods ‐ Over 600 virtual reference transcripts were reviewed, analysed and categorised.T his work was focused on three levels of analysis: broad categories based on the general type of question being asked, subcategories based on the specific question and the language that students used to ask their questions.Results ‐ Students are primarily using the library’s virtual reference service for higher‐level research assistance rather than using the tool to obtain quick answers to simple questions. The two most common types of questions involved staff providing detailed information or instruction on a topic. More specifically, the most frequently occurring type of question was related to finding journal articles on a given topic. Our analysis of the words students use to ask their questions confirmed that students and librarians often do not speak the same language.Conclusion ‐ The results of our analysis of students’ needs and language can help us understand our users. This study demonstrated that our library can enhance services in five areas: online services, collections, relationships, staff skills, and the library as place.

Objective – To determine the impact of electronic journals on interlibrary loan (ILL) activity. The hypothesis predicted that ILL requests would fall by approximately 10% during a four‐year period, that e‐journal use would increase by 10% per year and that there would be a correlation between the two.Design – Longitudinal data analysis of interlibrary loans over an eight year period from 1995 to 2003. The second part of the study is a retrospective data analysis of ejournal use from 2001‐2005.Setting – The 26 largest libraries in the state of Illinois, USA; all but the Chicago Public Library are academic institutions.Subjects –1. Journal article photocopy requests originating in the 26 libraries divided into three data sets: 1995/96, 1999/00 and 2002/03. 2. Electronic journal usage statistics from 25 libraries subscribing to packages within the EBSCOhost database for the fiscal years 2001‐2005.Methods –A retrospective analysis was conducted using interlibrary loan data for journal article photocopy requests either originating from or being satisfied by the 26 libraries in the study. It examined the data in three ways: the 26 libraries together, requests sent to libraries in the state of Illinois excluding the 26, and requests using libraries outside the state. The second part of the study examines usage data of electronic journals available in 25 of the 26 libraries.Main results – In the period from 1999 to 2003 a reduction in ILL requests of nearly 26% was observed within the participating 26 libraries. Analysis by broad subject discipline demonstrates that social sciences and sciences show the largest drop in requests – a 25% decrease from 1995‐2003. The number of requests from an individual journal title drops significantly in science by 34% within the state and by 37% for out‐of‐state requests. While the humanities actually showed an increase in the number of requests, the large increase in out‐of‐state requests (20.6% overall between 1995 and 2003) slowed significantly with an increase of only 2.6%from 1999‐2003 indicating that sources other than ILL are providing articles to this field. Nearly identical peaks and troughs in ILL requests over the three study periods demonstrate predictably consistent high and low use subject areas. Use of the e‐journals collection was shown to increase at well over 10% per year. Of the most highly requested ILL titles, 46% were available as e‐journals, indicating a significant lack of awareness or inability to access electronic resources among some library users.Conclusion – The hypothesis that state‐wide ILL requests would decline by 10% was far surpassed. Libraries most frequently borrowed titles that were low‐use and outside the scope of their collections. Titles requested more than 20 times in each study period were those least frequently borrowed, as well as least requested from outside the state, which demonstrates a cost‐effective use of library resources. This indicates that libraries are judiciously providing access to high‐use titles locally. All three data sets included in‐state titles requested more than 20 times, as well as 18 titles requested from out of state, suggesting that they should be considered for purchase within Illinois. While access to e‐journals appears to have reduced the number of ILLs, there is clearly a need for some libraries to improve the way in which they help their users access the collection.

Objective – To measure the impact of academic library facility improvements on physical library usage. Design – The facility improvement data used for this study were previously collected through a 68-item Web survey for the companion article “Creating a Better Place: Physical Improvements in Academic Libraries, 1995-2002” (Shill and Tonner). The measurement of library usage was by exit gate counts before and after library improvements. Setting – American academic libraries in which: facility improvement projects were completed between 1995 and 2002, the project space was not smaller than 20,000 square feet, the project space did not include off‐site storage or non-public space, and gate-count statistics from before and after facility changes were available. Subjects – Ninety of 384 identified academic libraries were able to provide usable data on: exit gate count, total circulation, in-house collection use, and reference transaction data. Methods – The data collection was undertaken in 2003 for the companion study (Shill and Tonner). A population of 384 libraries potentially able to meet criteria for the study was gathered and each library was invited by e‐mail to complete a Web‐based survey. Through this initial contact, 357 libraries were confirmed as meeting the study criteria, and responses were received from 182 of those providing a 51% overall response rate. Respondents were asked about institutional characteristics (public or private, Carnegie classification, etc.); project specific features (year of completion, nature of project, etc.); nature and extent of changes (seating, wiring, HVAC, etc.); presence of non‐library services in the facility; collection arrangements; before and after quality changes in lighting, seating and a range of services (as assessed by the survey respondent); and before and after project completion gate count usage statistics. Respondents were asked a set of eleven questions each with a five‐point scale about facility quality and librarian satisfaction with the former and the changed facility. A further criteria requirement of the availability of pre- and post-project gate count was implemented, reducing the number of libraries to be studied to 90. Facility usage changes were calculated by subtracting the gate count total for the last complete year pre-project from the most recent year gate count post project. Main results Eighty percent of the 90 libraries reported increased gate count postproject, and 20 percent reported a decline in usage. The median increase across the libraries was 37.4 percent with 25.6 percent of libraries experiencing a post‐project increase of 100 percent or more. Renovated facilities were more likely to see usage decline, but there was no statistically significant difference in usage change between renovated and new facilities. Libraries more recently upgraded saw greater usage growth than those renovations completed earlier in the study period, although 75 percent of the facilities continued to experience higher post-project usage levels. Nearly all of the private institutions (93.1%) experienced usage increases and almost half experienced growth of 100 percent or more. No statistically significant relationship was found between changes in post project usage and: • The proportion of facility space allocated for library functions • The physical location of the library on campus • The size of the library facility • The level of degrees offered at the institution • The availability of wireless access • The number of computers in the instruction lab • The number of public access workstations • A larger number of seats • The number of group study rooms • The shelving capacity, the use of compact shelving or off-site storage • The presence of coffee or snack bars • The presence of any non-library facilities There was a statistically significant correlation (Pearson’s r) between increased post project usage and: • The institution type (public or private) (p=.000) • The number of data ports in the facility (p=.005) • The percent of wired seats (p=.034) Ten elements relating to improved quality emerged as statistically significant in relation to increased usage, although the correlation for quality of artificial lighting was not statistically significant (p=.162 n.s.). The statistically significant correlations (Pearson’s r) between quality and increased usage in order of strength of correlation were: the quality of the instruction lab (p=.000); layout (p=.001); public access workstations (p=.006); natural lighting (p=.007); user workspace (p=.008); telecommunications infrastructure (p=.014); overall ambience (p=.020); collection storage (p=.026); heating, ventilating, and airconditioning system (p=.026); and service point locations (p=.038). Conclusion – This study confirmed that 80 percent of libraries experience usage increase after a library improvement project. The study revealed those investments that cause increased use, and also found that a number of variables previously predicted to cause usage growth were not significant. The study also found that quality of the improvements, additions, and the building are a significant driver of increased use. The median 37.4 percent increase demonstrates that, contrary to reports in the literature (Shill and Tonner 460), overall library usage is increasing in these institutions.

Objective – To determine if university library users are aware of electronic books,and how and why electronic books are used.Design – Survey.Setting – University of Denver.Subjects – Two thousand sixty‐seven graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, and staff.Methods – In Spring 2005, the University of Denver faculty, and graduate and undergraduate students were invited to participate in a survey about awareness and use of electronic books. A link to the survey was also posted on the library’s home pageand on the university’s Web portal. The 19‐question survey consisted of 11 questions to get feedback about electronic books in general, five questions focused on netLibrary,and the remaining were demographic questions. Eligibility to win one of two university bookstore gift certificates provided incentive to complete the survey.Main results – Surveys were completed by 2,067 respondents, including undergraduate students (30.1%), graduate students (39.1%),faculty (12.5%), and staff (11.8%). Results were reported by question, broken out by status (undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty) and/or by discipline (Business, Humanities, Nontraditional, Professional, Sciences, Social Sciences), and presented in tables or in the text. In general, most respondents (59.1%) were aware that the library provides access to electronic books. The library catalog and professors were the main ways respondents learned about electronic books. Approximately half (51.3%) indicated they had used an electronic book. Of those who indicated that they used electronic books (1,061 respondents), most (72%) had used electronic books more than once. The main reasons mentioned for choosing to use an electronic book included: no print version available, working from home makes getting to the library difficult, and searching text in an electronic book is easier. When asked about typical use of electronic books, most respondents indicated they read only apart of an electronic book; only 7.1% of 1,148 respondents indicated they read the entire electronic book. In answer to a questiona bout choosing the print or electronic version of the same book, 60.7% responded that they would always or usually use print,and 21.5% indicated they would always or usually use electronic. The amount of material to read, the need to refer to the material at a later time, and the desire to annotate or highlight text are all factors that influence whether users read electronic books on a computer or PDA, or print out the material. U.S. government publications and netLibrary were the electronic resources used the most by survey participants.Conclusion – The results of this survey suggest the need to market availability of the library’s electronic books. Problems associated with the use of electronic books are related to reading large amounts of text on a computer screen, but a reported benefitis that searching text in an electronic book is easier. Responses to the survey suggest that the use of electronic resources may not be generic, but rather depends on the type of resource (content) being used. The author notes that this finding should lead to further investigation of which items will be preferred and used in which format.

Currently, there exists little evidence concerning how various characteristics of research cultures are associated with patterns of use of electronic library resources. The present study addresses this gap by exploring how research-group membership, across-fields scattering of literature, and degree of establishment of research area are related to patterns of digital library use. The analytic dimensions are derived from Richard Whitley's (1984) theory of the social and intellectual organization of academic fields. The article represents a first attempt to operationalize Whitley's concepts in a large-scale study of e-resources use. The data used in the study were gathered in 2004 by the Finnish Electronic Library (FinElib) through a nationwide Web-based user questionnaire (N = 900). Membership in a research group significantly increased searching in journal databases, the importance of colleagues as sources of information about electronic articles and journals, and the use of alert services. A significant interaction effect was found between degree of across-fields scattering of relevant resources and degree of establishment of research fields. A high degree of across-fields scattering of relevant literature increased the number of journal databases used mainly in less established research areas whereas it influenced the use of journal databases less in established fields. This research contributes to our picture concerning the complex set of interacting factors influencing patterns of use of e-resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As libraries increase their electronic journal collections, would dependence on interlibrary loan decrease? This paper reports a case study at the University of Nevada, Reno, University Libraries (UNR) focusing on the usage of the Elsevier online journal package and interlibrary loan (ILL) borrowing activities. It analyzes four-years'' worth of UNR usage and ILL statistics, gathered between July 1999 and June 2003. It also provides observations and explanations from a perspective beyond statistics, at the level of library services and the campus demographic and research environments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]