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Dissertation Information for Patricia Taylor Files

NAME:
- Patricia Taylor Files

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of California, Berkeley (USA) (1982)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- [Indecipherable1]
- [Indecipherable2]
- William Paisley

MPACT Status: Complete - Except Indecipherables

Title: CLIENT REACTION TO AN EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION SERVICE (CALIFORNIA)

Abstract: The San Mateo Educational Resources Center (SMERC) was studied in an effort to characterize the use being made of this information service that provides data base searches and other information services to educators in 19 California counties and parts of several other states. Requestor characteristics and subjects requested were determined for some 1000 searches conducted by SMERC in April 1980. Then 48 clients receiving search packages from SMERC in September and October of 1980 were interviewed by telephone about the circumstances of their requests, the uses made of the results, and their satisfaction with the service. The interviews were intended to explore techniques of information service evaluation as well as to gather data about information service use.

Based on the analysis of 1000 requests, the average use of SMERC can be characterized simply. The request concerns the operation of schools in some way. The request is a new one for SMERC so it is researched using an Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) computer search and other tools. The client receives a printout and a select set of microfiche and photocopies of relevant documents. The type of client using SMERC varies in the different geographical areas served. Research results are of interest to only ten percent of SMERC clients.

SMERC clients interviewed were found to be happy with the service; all planned to use it again. However, they would only make the effort to use the service if their question was important. The interviews uncovered occasional discrepancies between user needs and the request statements that SMERC received. Because the study treated the entire SMERC service network as an entity, there is no evidence about where the discrepancies originated. Client recollections about how long a search took to arrive often were inaccurate. Few were concerned that their results took some three weeks to arrive. When the search package does arrive, most clients prefer to receive just a few documents. Some that received too much material reacted by reading none of it. Clients frequently neglected to read the microfiche portion of their package. Even if they hadn't read all of the package, clients usually were pleased with their search. They were grateful for the service and predisposed to evaluate it positively. For this reason, interviews were shown to be valuable for uncovering the fine gradations of client reaction to an information service.

MPACT Scores for Patricia Taylor Files

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-05-30 11:38:41

Advisors and Advisees Graph