This survey repeats and enlarges on a survey of online searching in university libraries carried out in 1981. The results indicate that charging does affect the number of searches carried out in an institution; that libraries providing a 'free' service remain committed to this as a policy, while libraries which charge try to ameliorate the effects of charging; that more libraries use a 'fixed' tariff structure; that charging does little to alter the balance of use by academic staff and postgraduates within an institution. However, the evidence on how charging affects the quality of searching is conflicting.
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References
1.
Cannell, S.E. , and Mowat, I R M.Charges for on-line searches in university libraries: a report on a survey. Journal of Librarianship , July 1982, 14 (3), 176-203.
2.
University Grants Committee.University statistics 1982-3, vol. 1, Students and staff. University Statistical Record [1985?].
