At 14:32 02/07/97 GMT, you wrote:
>I agree with Ian that a switch from locally available CD-ROMs to Web-
>based resources (whether local or remote) potentially offers a much
>better service to users, particularly distance learners).
The attraction to us of Web-based resources is the platform independence.
Our ARC subscription to INSPEC wasn't getting the heavy use predicted when
we offered the Windows, Mac and UNIX interfaces, partly we think because the
user community tend to be UNIX users and the UNIX SPIRS client is inelegant
when compared with WinSPIRS. Having recently offered WebSPIRS as well, use
has risen despite June traditionally being a quieter time of year.
I'd concur with Michael's point that Web interfaces may lead to less precise
searching (and I'm no great fan myself) but studies seem to show that
despite all our efforts in user education many end-users rarely stray from
simple keyword searching. The fatalists amongst us might conclude that one
may as well take the advantages of Web delivery and forget about functionality!
Jan
Janet Cropper
Sub-Librarian, Information Services Email: [log in to unmask]
University College London Voice: 0171-380 7833
Gower Street Fax: 0171-380 7727
London WC1E 6BT
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/
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