LINKING A MEDICAL USER SURVEY TO MANAGEMENT FOR LIBRARY EFFECTIVENESS: I, THE USER SURVEY

Abstract

The paper reports an intensive survey of medical library users in the Oxford teaching hospitals and the University science departments. Six survey techniques were used and selected results are given for each. It was concluded that the characteristic having most influence on information‐seeking behaviour and library usage was the relative amounts of the user's time devoted to clinical practice and to research respectively. Three distinct user types were identified and ‘rich picture’ descriptions based on the survey evidence are given for each. A second paper will describe a systems study which linked the survey to library management decision‐making.

Citation

BREMBER, V.L. and LEGGATE, P. (1985), "LINKING A MEDICAL USER SURVEY TO MANAGEMENT FOR LIBRARY EFFECTIVENESS: I, THE USER SURVEY", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 41 No. 1, pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026770