Beth McNeil

Using LibQUAL+™ to improve services to library constituents: a preliminary report on the University of Nebraska‐Lincoln experience

Participation in the Spring 2001 LibQUAL+™ research and development project has helped the University Libraries at the University of Nebraska‐Lincoln (UNL) to better serve its main user groups. An in‐depth investigation of the UNL LibQUAL+™ survey results is currently underway. This investigation is ongoing and results will inform future planning efforts of the university libraries. Concurrently, the libraries have been able to make changes to services during the past year as a direct result of the LibQUAL+™ data. This paper will report on the libraries’ first efforts to address areas where perceptions of service differed from patron expectations, and will indicate plans for future efforts.

Want to See the Sites? Better Find a Better Guide: Do Popular Search Engines Return Librarian-Recommended Sites?

ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of a study of the utility of several popular search engines and of two newer search engines with respect to librarian-selected lists of Web resources and Internet searching behaviors. This study addresses whether said resources are returned where Internet searchers could reasonably be expected to find them and whether the search engines employed serve as acceptable substitutes for the expert advice of librarians. Search engines included in the study were Google, http://www.MSN.com, Yahoo, Lycos, AskJeeves, Icerocket, and Acoona. Searches for the study were based on the topics/titles of the “Internet Resources” columns from College & Research Libraries News for 2004. Finally, the paper addresses methodological concerns and proposes possible directions for further research.