Patron Approaches to Serials: A User Study

Although many catalog use studies have been reported, those limited to patron success with locating serials have been uncommon. This study, conducted at a separate serial card catalog in a major research library, measures the success of more than jour hundred patrons in the bibliographic retrieval of serials. The authors interviewed patrons and then analyzed the data in an attempt to determine how patrons approach a card catalog when searching for serials, their success rate, and reasons for their successes and failures.