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Following the Library induction/orientation process at the University of the West of England, Bristol in the autumn term of 1990, it was recognized on both educational and practical grounds that re‐appraisal was necessary. The result of this re‐appraisal was the development of a workbook with a flexible format, enabling it to be used with students from each of the eight faculties. The workbook programme was evaluated quantitatively (by questionnaire) and qualitatively (by meetings) and a number of recommendations made. Students expressed how much they had benefited by working together in small groups. It was decided to foster this approach of collaborative enquiry in the design of a series of shorter guides, workbooks and worksheets which were used by the Bristol Business School librarian for the induction/orientation programme in the autumn of 1992. The alternative programmes were evaluated qualitatively from student groups and from enquiries desk staff, with extremely positive results from both groups.

A study was undertaken to compare library skills and attitudes of traditional and non‐traditional students entering Kent State University during the Spring semester of 1989. It was discovered that non‐traditional students present a challenge to library instruction due to a lack of familiarity with and commitment to the academic routine, and a lack of library experience overall. Freshmen students were administered a questionnaire prior to receiving any formal library instruction. Chi‐square tests were used to test significant differences between the two groups regarding the variables of library skills and library attitudes. Because of the sample size, the study was limited. However, some observations were made that merit further study and may have implications for library instruction programmes which will be designed to address the growing population of non‐traditional college students in the 1990s.

Reports on a study of 522 university students, undertaken to determine how often they used their library and why, as well as to develop a general profile of college student library users. Descriptive statistics revealed that the majority of students used the library at least once a week. Obtaining a book or an article for a course paper was the most common reason cited for library use, followed by studying for a test, and then using the computerized indexes and online facilities. A setwise multiple regression analysis reveals that students who used the libraries most tended to be older, male, those who did not speak English as their native language, who lived the nearest to the academic library, who preferred to study alone, and who had the lowest levels of library anxiety. In addition, these students tended to visit the library to study for a test, to read current newspapers, to read their own textbook, to use computerized indexes and online facilities, or to meet friends. Discusses the implications of these findings and makes recommendations for future research.

Distance education students have unique needs from library services. This paper reports on a study of 17 distance learning students and describes what they say they need and want from the library. In talking to these distance students over time, we learned what general kinds of factors help them in their learning experience. Some of these are specifically related to library services, while some are more general but can be applied to the library. They range from changes in the provision of library materials and interpersonal services to large‐scale integration of the library with distance learning infrastructure and the governing institution as a whole.

Academic franchising has provided opportunities for many thousands of students who would otherwise have been excluded from higher education. Yet, despite the continued presence of franchised courses, the approach has been, as far as possible, to make them fit in alongside traditional courses. Reports some of the work carried out by CERLIM at the University of Central Lancashire during the two‐year Library Support for Franchised Courses in Higher Education project, which was part‐funded by the British Library. Notes the differences in provision between college and university libraries and examines the student experience within this context. Identifies weakness in provision and describes the students’ coping strategies. Presents the practical implications of this work as suggestions to library managers for improving practice in the college and university libraries.

The purpose of this paper is to assess students‐teachers‐librarians interpersonal relationships; and to assess student attitudes towards library staff attitudes, library services and user‐education programmes in the university libraries of Pakistan.

A multi‐disciplinary approach is used. Questionnaires and semi‐structured interviews are utilised in the study together with discussions under interview conditions with the experts.

The literature shows the librarians' slightly negative attitude to relationships, but interestingly students and teachers' responses reveal a much more positive view of support and accessibility by the library staff. The majority of students' written responses point out more positive interpersonal relationships than the literature indicated. Verbal responses show antagonistic attitudes in some cases towards library staff. It is shown that interpersonal relationships are not as disappointing as shown in the literature and the qualitative study of experts' views, but still there is much to be done to improve the meaningfulness of the educational use of the library by improving the interpersonal relationships. It finds the factors affecting the successful interpersonal relationships as: lack of professional training, collaboration and satisfactory working conditions seem to be crucial for the meaningful interpersonal attitude.

The study examines the interpersonal relationships in the ten university libraries of Pakistan.

The information can be useful for librarians and information specialists for developing positive working relationships. Librarians can play their role effectively in attracting and educating the users to wealth of information contained in Pakistani libraries.

Very few studies on interpersonal relationship have been conducted in Pakistan. The key points that emerge that interpersonal relationships play a major part in developing attitudes towards library services and user education; antagonistic attitudes are evidenced in some cases towards library staff in the verbal responses from students (strongly) and teachers (less strongly). The myth that librarians are uncooperative with students and teachers is not well supported by the research.

The use of critical incident technique to highlight problems of student library use at Manchester Polytechnic Library is described. The basic premise of the research was that students′ self‐sufficiency could not be increased until these problems were more fully understood. Critical incident technique uses broad prompts to allow the subjects to describe a specific incident, thereby providing a clear picture of the actual problem. The resulting interviews revealed a wide spectrum of problems, ranging from the use of the catalogue and difficulties locating books to the reluctance of students to ask for help and a phenomenon identified as library anxiety.

The California State University Library successfully improved its library’s hours, including introducing 24-hour access, thanks in part to an assessment process that helped the University Library to develop a partnership with the students. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

In order to understand the need for expanded operational hours, students’ were surveyed on their satisfaction with current library hours, suggestions on how best to meet their actual hour needs, and interest in 24-hour access. Efforts to solicit student input included involving the student government in promoting the survey and reviewing its results, a decision that later had a major impact on the success of the project.

The survey identified days with problematic hours and which hours student suggested changes to that would best fit most students’ needs. In response to the findings, the library immediately implemented incremental changes that fit within current library resources. The survey’s most significant finding was that 94 percent of students wanted 24-hour study in the library.

An unexpected benefit of the library making immediate, incremental changes was that students could see the results of their input and feel a sense of ownership. The findings also led to the library making 24-hour access a top priority. When university funding was not available, the university’s student government approached the library with a unique proposal to include funding for 24-hour library access in their proposed student fee increase. The student body showed its willingness to invest in the library by passing the fee increase. California State University San Marco’s library began 24/5 hours in Fall 2017.

The paper analyses students' use of public libraries for study purposes and discusses the public library as a substitute or a complement for educational or academic libraries. The paper also investigates which segments of students rely heavily on public libraries as services for study purposes.

The research is based on a comprehensive survey of Danish students from both universities and other higher institutions of education. The data collection was carried out by an online survey and the sample consists of students from all over the country covering a multitude of different institutions and subject areas.

It is evident from the research that students do not bypass the physical library and it is also evident that the use of physical libraries and digital resources complement each other. The place of Google in the students' information behaviour is prominent and positively correlated to use of traditional library resources. Nearly 60 per cent of all students use the local public library for study purposes. A small group consisting of 7 per cent of the students uses the public library as their only library for study purposes. One of the more striking findings is that the service level of public libraries in relation to study topics appears to be very uneven, which means that different groups of students have very varied probabilities of success using the public library. The data also indicates that students tend to look at libraries as a whole and do not make clear distinctions between different types of libraries, expecting the whole system to be seamless. The paper also relates the findings to the general body of literature on students' information seeking behaviour.

The research raises questions concerning the detailed behaviour of students' information behaviour, for example, how they combine formalised resources with more general resources. The paper also indicates that it is probably counter‐productive to evaluate students as one group. Different segments of students have very different and varied information behaviour patterns depending on study topic, study year, psychological dispositions and other demographic factors.

The paper raises important managerial questions and concerns in relation to both the mission of public libraries and the service level given to different segments of students.

The research supports existing international research on students' information behaviour. The research is based on a comprehensive and nation‐wide sample and it emphasises students' information behaviour in relation to several important demographic factors, and it also asserts that it is important to investigate further the differing modes of behaviour. The paper points to the interplay between formalised information resources and search engines.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the need for academic libraries to demonstrate and increase their impact of student learning and success. It highlights the data problems present in existing library value correlation research and suggests a pathway to surmounting existing data obstacles. The paper advocates the integration of libraries into institutional learning analytics systems to gain access to more granular student learning and success data. It also suggests using library-infused learning analytics data to discover and act upon new linkages that may reveal library value in an institutional context.

The paper describes a pattern pervasive in existing academic library value correlation research and identifies major data obstacles to future research in this vein. The paper advocates learning analytics as one route to access more usable and revealing data. It also acknowledges several challenges to the suggested approach.

This paper describes learning analytics as it may apply to and support correlation research on academic library value. While this paper advocates exploring the integration of library data and institutional data via learning analytics initiatives, it also describes four challenges to this approach including librarian concerns related to the use of individual level data, the tension between claims of correlation and causation in library value research, the need to develop interoperability standards for library data and organizational readiness and learning analytics maturity issues.

This paper outlines a path forward for academic library value research that may otherwise be stymied by existing data difficulties.