TRANSITIONING TO THE INTERNET - RESULTS OF A NATIONAL-LIBRARY-OF-MEDICINE USER SURVEY

In late 1995, several months prior to the introduction of Internet Gra teful Med, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) conducted a customer survey as part of its efforts to make a transition from Grateful Med to new forms of electronic information access and retrieval. A questio nnaire survey was mailed to a sample of 2,500 online users randomly se lected from domestic users (excluding fixed-fee users) who searched NL M databases during the second quarter of 1995. The final response rate was nearly 83% of eligible respondents. About 70% of NLM customers re sponding already had access to the Internet, and of those, more than 9 0% had access to the World Wide Web. However, only 26% of customers wi th Internet access were using the Internet to access NLM databases. He alth care providers account for about 46% of NLM customers but, as a g roup, search NLM databases relatively infrequently even though they ha ve higher-end equipment. Librarians and information professionals repr esent about one-fifth of NLM customers and are by far the most intensi ve users, but tend to have lower-end equipment. Overall, the survey re sults provide a strong basis for the transition to Internet-based deli very of NLM online database services, including Internet Grateful Med and the NLM family of World Wide Web sites. However, Internet access i s uneven, especially in rural areas and at hospitals. This reinforces the need for continuing special outreach efforts directed at improving access for rural and hospital based users and rural libraries, upgrad ing computer equipment for medical librarians, and training health car e providers in more effective use of Internet-based biomedical informa tion resources.