EXPECTATIONS AND EFFECTIVENESS USING CD-ROMS - WHAT DO PATRONS WANT AND HOW SATISFIED ARE THEY

As academic libraries wrestle with how to provide more CD-ROMs and mor e online remote access to databases to keep pace with demands, they fi rst need to evaluate the effectiveness of their current services. This study identifies students' preferences and effectiveness using CD-ROM s and assesses the whole CD-ROM environment at one university library. A questionnaire was used to ask students their preferences, confidenc e levels, skills, and training in searching CD-ROM databases, as well as their satisfaction with CD-ROM services (see the appendix). Analyse s of the data revealed that users are satisfied and prefer CD-ROM data bases over the print indices. Although students indicated they are con fident searching, they admitted that they need to know basic search st rategies and that they want more personal assistance, hands-on trainin g, and remote online access to databases. Moreover, how can academic l ibraries meet increasing user demands for more database access and ser vices when their resources are not increasing?