Campuswide access to OCLC's firstsearch: A study of use at the University of Minnesota

Abstract

In October 1991, the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) introduced FirstSearch, an online reference product designed for the end‐user. Through a menu interface, which features extensive online help, more than thirty databases, covering a range of subject areas, are currently available. Among these are three unique to OCLC: WorldCat (the OCLC online union catalog), Article1st, and Contents1st. The latter two offer bibliographic citations to articles in more than 11,000 journals, primarily in the English language, in the areas of science, technology, medicine, social science, business, the humanities, and popular culture. Several authors have described the searching, printing, and pricing options available for the system.

Citation

Moline, S., Cogswell, J., Reich, P., Robbins, K. and Rossman, M.J. (1994), "Campuswide access to OCLC's firstsearch: A study of use at the University of Minnesota", Reference Services Review, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 21-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb049206