Title: The Influences of Traditional Services on Library Use
Abstract: The Influences of Traditional Services on Library UseThis study, on the relationship between user preferences, library characteristics, and the freq uency of library use, employing a sample of 655 students in fi ve medical schools, supports in a tentative fashion some traditional principles relating library characteristics to frequency of use.Other factors assumed to influence library use, such as the availability of audiovisual materials or the physical comfort of the library , do not appear to be related to frequency of use.THE SUCCESSFUL PLANNING AND DESIGN of any information system must ultimately depend on an understanding of user needs and preferences in seeking information.One important measure of a library's success as an information system is the degree to which its various services and facilities are used by its potential user group.This measure is simultaneously a good indicator of how well the library 's planners and operators understand user needs related to information seeking.A recognition of this relationship between users' needs and preferences in information