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In this report, the authors describe results of a nationwide census of institutional repositories in U.S. academic institutions. The census is one of several activities of the MIRACLE Project, an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded research program based at the University of Michigan. The acronym MIRACLE means "Making Institutional Repositories a Collaborative Learning Environment." A considerable portion of the scholarly record is born digital, and some scholarship is produced in digital formats that have no physical, in-the-hand counterparts. The proliferation of digital scholarship raises serious and pressing issues about how to organize, access, and preserve it in perpetuity. The response of academic institutions has been to build and deploy institutional repositories (IRs) to manage the digital scholarship their learning communities produce. Nine chapters comprise the contents of this report. Chapter 1 gives background on the MIRACLE Project, defines institutional repositories, and describes the methods MIRACLE Project staff used to conduct a census of IRs in U.S. academic institutions. Chapter 2 examines the extent to which certain types of academic institutions are involved with IRs and the nature of people's involvement with IRs at these institutions. The next chapter focuses on the budget for an IR, specifically on sources of funding and on line items in the IR budget. Chapter 4 explores important investigative activities that institutions conduct to determine whether to implement an IR. Next, Chapter 5 tells how many institutions with IR) are implementing the IR-system software packages they have chosen, describes system features that respondents believe are satisfactory and less than satisfactory, and explains why and when implementation (IMP) respondents would migrate to a new IR. Chapter 6 gives details on institutional repository practice and policies, such as the number and types of digital documents in IRs, experiences with contributors and recruiting content for the IR, managing the IR's intellectual property (IP) rights, and the extent to which IR policies are implemented in institutions with pilot-test and operational IRs. Chapter 7 explores institutional repository benefits from the perspectives of IR staff as well as staff perceptions of IR contributors. It also examines the IR's effect on building relationships with other units, the deployment of a successful IR, and the methods that institutions are using to evaluate IRs. Chapter 8 features findings pertaining to institutions that have done no planning for an institutional repository (IR). The final chapter discusses census findings, specifically, the sleeping beast of demand for institutional repositories from master's and baccalaureate institutions, findings that confirm those of previous surveys, and findings that build on the knowledge of IRs. It concludes with observations on issues pertaining to IRs that will persist long after the MIRACLE Project terminates. Appended are: (1) Advisory Group Members; (2) Questionnaire for No Planning (NP) Respondents; (3) Questionnaire for Planning Only (PO) Respondents; (4) Questionnaire for Planning and Pilot Testing (PPT) Respondents; (5) Questionnaire for Implementation (IMP) Respondents; and (6) Literature Review. (Contains 30 tables and 27 figures.)

This review of the transition from library card catalogs to online public access catalogs (OPAC) (1981-1982) discusses methods employed by online catalog use studies (self-administered questionnaires, OPAC transaction logs, focused-group interviews, feature analysis, online search and retrieval experiments) and new directions for OPAC research (ergonomic aspects, costs). Fifty-nine references are cited. (EJS)

Findings of focused-group interviews conducted for OCLC study of library users and online public access catalogs (OPACs) indicate users like OPACs, have problems finding right subject heading, envision features to improve subject access, want access to more than books, and want OPACs to provide new services. Eight references are listed. (EJS)

This discussion of online public access catalog (OPAC) user assistance includes results of focused-group interviews of 70 OPAC users at six libraries. Importance of printed materials, library staff assistance, users' problems relearning OPAC searching, computer-assisted instruction, multiple-dialog modes, informative system error messages, and prompts for OPAC interface are highlighted. (EJS)

Reports findings of interindexer consistency tests--quantitative measure of degree to which indexers agree in assignment of terms representing subject contents of document--on print materials, which may be generalizable to indexing of visual materials. Results of interindexer consistency test on nonspecialists indexing pictorial art works are discussed. (31 references) (EJS)

This review takes a critical approach in summarizing and evaluating the methodology and scope of catalog use studies, with emphasis on the subject approach to card catalog searching. Subject access is defined in this report; however, the process of subject searching, described repeatedly in library literature, has been based upon common sense understanding rather than systematic observation. The findings of catalog use studies are classified into: (1) generalizations on the physical format of the catalog, information found on the cards, catalog searchers' educational level or area of expertise, and reference assistance; (2) generalizations specific to subject searches, user characteristics, and the physical structure of the catalog; and (3) generalizations specific to known-item searches and nonstandard information, failure at the catalog, and author-title information. The major reviews of catalog use studies and their methods are also covered. A bibliography of catalog use studies and a cited author index are provided. (Author/RAA)

In this research project, subject terms from the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) Schedules and Relative Index were incorporated into an online catalog as searcher's tools for subject access, browsing, and display. Four features of the DDC were employed to help searchers browse for and match their own subject terms with the online catalog's terminology: (1) subject terms in the DDC Schedules; (2) hierarchical arrays of related terms in the DDC Schedules; (3) subject terms in the DDC Relative Index; and (4) class numbers in the DDC Schedules and Relative Index. The effectiveness of the DDC in an online catalog was tested in online retrieval experiments with library patrons and staff at the Library of Congress, the New York State Library, the Public Library of Columbus and Franklin County (Ohio), and the Mathematics Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The research findings chiefly address subject searchers' use of a library classification in the information retrieval environment of an online catalog. These findings provide insight into searchers' problems with online displays of the DDC Schedules and Relative Index, bibliographic record displays enhanced with subject information from the DDC, and online catalog capabilities necessary to support searching, displaying, and retrieving library cataloging and classification information. As a research project studying online catalog use, the DDC Online Project furthers general knowledge of library patron use of online catalogs, regardless of the extent to which these catalogs have been enhanced by a library classification. (Author/THC)

As part of a project which evaluated online public access catalogs (OPAC's) through analyses of library patrons' needs and perceptions, self-administered questionnaires were completed by library patrons who were OPAC users and non-users at nine academic and public libraries. Focus group interviews were conducted with OPAC users and non-users, as well as technical and public services library staff at six libraries (academic, public, and the Library of Congress). The survey concerned respondents' most recent OPAC search and included questions addressing their attitudes toward OPAC's and traditional library catalogs, and reasons for OPAC non-use. Comments in focus group interviews aided in the interpretation of survey responses and in reaching smaller groups. Research findings focused on five general areas: (1) demographic background of respondents; (2) OPAC searching; (3) transition from the traditional library catalog to the computer catalog; (4) OPAC features; and (5) user assistance for searching OPAC's. This report includes a 33-item reference list, 25 illustrations, 68 tables, and appendices providing user and non-user questionnaire results. (Author/LMM)

The Subject Access Research Project was initiated by OCLC in August 1979 to study the process of subject searching in the library catalog, with the objective of identifying features for an automated subject retrieval system which would support the present search tactics employed by library users performing manual subject searches at the library catalog. Subject searchers' spoken thoughts (i.e., protocols) were recorded as they performed their subject searches at varied libraries. An analysis of protocols resulted in construction of a subject searching process model. Features suggested by the model are recommended for implementation in an online public access catalog (OPAC), which has the potential to support new subject-searching features. An OPAC in which the searcher's model of the information retrieval process of traditional catalog searching is implemented may have the same potential as the library catalog, but inclusion of a user-oriented interface is necessary to make it as powerful. An OPAC with such an interface and enhanced with features not previously available to library catalog searchers would actually be more powerful than the traditional catalog. This report includes 39 figures, 27 tables and a 29-item reference list as well as appendices including data collection instruments. (Author/LMM)