ERIC Number: ED215704
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1981
Pages: 60
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-8389-3270-3
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Financing Online Search Services in Publicly Supported Libraries. The Report of an ALA Survey.
Lynch, Mary Jo
In May 1981 the American Library Association (ALA) conducted a survey to determine how online search services are financed in publicly-supported libraries and in libraries in nonprofit organizations. The survey questionnaire was prepared by the ALA Office for Research (OFR), and three vendors of online services--BRS, Lockheed, and SDC--mailed the surveys to their subscribers in the population of interest. Completed questionnaires were returned by 985 libraries and processed by the Library Research Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The survey provides data on decisions made by publicly-supported libraries on such questions as whether or not to charge for online services, how many searches are performed per year, and what factors should be considered in deciding how to finance online services. Data are summarized in 18 tables. Appended are the questionnaire and its covering letter, the ALA position statement on free access to information, a supplemental report on free structures by Susan Bonzi, and a review of the related literature. A 37-item reference list is provided. (Author/JL)
Descriptors: Costs, Fees, Financial Support, Library Administration, Library Services, Library Surveys, Nonprofit Organizations, Online Systems, Public Libraries, Questionnaires, Reference Services, Special Libraries, Tables (Data)
American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611 ($2.00 prepaid).
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: American Library Association, Chicago, IL.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A