The information needs of a small liberal arts library whose curriculum does not support a science or technology research program will differ from the information needs of a major research institution. Likewise, periodical usage will also differ with the two types of libraries. This investigation examines the patterns of periodical usage identified by studies conducted at research libraries, science libraries, technical libraries, special libraries, and by one small liberal arts library. But, these patterns of usage established by prior studies do not reflect today's technological innovations. Patron access to CD-ROM periodical indexes does affect how research is conducted and to what extent a collection is used. The usage data compiled for Shafer Library's "benchmark" investigation quantitatively identifies how its liberal arts periodicals collection is used. The data both confirm and reject the patterns of periodical usage established in the literature by prior studies, and, for administrators, justify the expense of purchasing CD-ROM indexes because collection usage improves dramatically. Spreadsheets displaying data on the periodicals collection, current subscription titles, and titles indexed by INFOTRAC are appended. (30 references; 10 figures/tables) (Author/MAB)