As we approach the new millennium, it is very clear that the Internet - the information highway - is not a fad. What began in 1969 as the U.S. government-funded Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), and gradually included the Ethernet in 1972, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) in 1974, the Because It's Time Network (BITNET) in 1981, and the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) in 1986, has emerged as the Internet of today. The business world refers to the Internet as a megatrend; librarians consider it to be the most disorganized organization of information; and library users perceive it as a universe of answers to all their questions. In many ways, both are correct; and, in others, both are very wrong.

This paper will address user satisfaction in this Internet Age with emphasis on:

In order to achieve successful implementation of Internet applications, one depends highly on who your users are; and what are their needs, interests, and expectations. In an academic library setting, for example, users are students, faculty, researchers and staff. For this reason the level of library skills ranges from very low in the student and staff groups to very high for the faculty and researchers.

According to Mardikian and Kesselman, users have three basic needs -- information, instruction and access assistance (Mardikian and Kesselman, 1995, p. 27). Today users want more than the basic electronic resources i.e., the online library catalog, electronic periodical databases, and full text resources including encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and the like. They want what can be described by the commercial phrase - "one-stop shopping". After retrieving all of their research information, they want to continue on seamlessly to achieve their goal of completing their work with the use of word processing programs. This is the ideal situation. In many universities, however, the retrieval of information stops at the library door or with the library network. Users must seek word processing elsewhere, either on their own personal computers in the dormitory or at home, or in the computer rooms on campus.

Users expectations are increasingly reaching higher levels. In information technology, users want electronic network navigation and communication tools such as Web browsers, gophers, Telnet, e-mail and FTP. Such resources have become integral activities in the lives of users and to deny them of these tools could be devastating.

3. EMBRACING NEW USER VALUES

Library users always have identified and appreciated good service. The elements for good service have consisted of three basic values: "equity of access, personal service, and services tailored to individual needs" (Fergusen, 1994).

In the Internet Age, users have become the prime focus of the library, not the in-house collections. As previously discussed in this paper, users have acquired some different needs which are firmly planted in a new set of values. These are:

Understanding the new information environment in the library is very important. An exercise in comparing and contrasting past and present models is essential, as shown in the following. Only then can you identify the differences and interpret how they will change user values.

Concept Old Model New Model

Virtual Library Virtualization is an idea Degrees of Virtualization are realized

Internet adoption Internet plays a small Internet is a complimentary element

role in library essential for a variety of library activities

Users Needs and expectations Needs, expectations, and priorities

change slowly change constantly

Information Dated, limited Current, extensive data; related back-

Sources ground and reference material;

interactive tutorials; automatic cross-

references, encyclopedias, atlases, etc.

5. REDEFINING THE ROLE OF LIBRARIANS

President John F. Kennedy said: "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future" (Carruth, 1992). Whether we like it or not, the role of the librarian in the Internet Age has changed, is changing, and will continue to change. These changes will occur rapidly and much depends upon our ability to respond to change. Historically, the role of librarians has evolved throughout the centuries at a much slower pace. Librarians have always responded well; but, keep in mind, those were slow changes.

Over the past two or three decades, librarians were often heard saying, "Why change? This is the way we have always done it." This is an excellent example of resistance to change. They firmly believed that, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well, it has taken the Internet Age to "break" a few core beliefs that seemed to be carved in stone. Peter Leyden, an editor of Wired magazine warned that, "As a society, we are building the electronic digital library of the future. Librarians need to play a much more prominent role now in that development, because things are happening quickly, and they will happen without them" (Leyden, 1997). We, as professional information scientists, must first consider and then adopt new approaches to library services whether on the Internet in digitized form or in real time.

Librarians always have been teachers; and now, more than ever, the focus of librarianship should be on teaching. Is it still possible for first-time users to enter a library and retrieve information without the intervention of a librarian? Not all users are technologically literate, and some even develop phobias of technology in any form. The only solution is Bibliographic Instruction (BI) which also has undergone extensive change in recent times. BI now is presented in various formats and has emerged to meet the challenge of the Internet Age gloriously. It has developed in synchronization with the old adage, "If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime." So, too, it is with the Internet. Once basic skills are learned, the user may use them for many applications. And so to my fellow librarians, I quote a fairly recent song written by the Carpenters, "Grow old along with me. The best is yet to be."

6. FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

What can library users expect in the coming years? Although the future may be difficult to predict, experts agree that the Internet with all of its marvels and flaws is here to stay. And libraries users have spoken. We know their wants, their needs, their preferences. Now it is up to librarians to take these challenges into the future with informed choices and reciprocal cooperation.

Challenge is defined as, "A test of one's abilities or resources in a demanding but stimulating undertaking" (American Heritage Dictionary, 1992). Challenge forces us to take action; it forces us to plan. In the Internet Age, changes will occur so quickly that librarians cannot afford to merely react to it but they must control it every step of the way (Riggs, 1997).

User needs and, in some instances, user demands, also will present challenges. Through user surveys this group will have a direct influence on which resources are purchased and which are eliminated. They will identify which form of B.I. they prefer i.e., lecture/demonstration, help screens, online tutorials, hands-on training, or assistance on-demand. In a recent survey conducted at the University of Rhode Island, for example, participants indicated that they preferred personal assistance from staff as their first choice for receiving training, followed by hands-on workshops, online help screens, and printed guidelines. The lecture/demonstration method was the least likely method preferred. (McCarthy, Krausse & Little, 1997, p. 137).

Indirectly, library staffing also has been influenced by user-related activities. Reference services have grown dramatically requiring multi-talented instructors with skills to teach BI in various formats and in different venues.

Fortunately, once users needs have been identified in relation to resources, staffing and training, librarians do have choices in how to integrate them into library operations. Wise choices are important now and for the future. According to Weingard in Customer Service Excellence, "Certainly it is true that multiple factors transform our todays into our tomorrows. But choice is definitely central to the process... Therefore, the decisions that determine present levels of customer service will have far-reaching impacts upon the near and long-term future and will affect the choices that present and potential customers make" (1997, p. 114-115).

Finally, librarians should heed the recommendation made by the American Library Association encouraging consortia participation as an economical and practical method to enhance library resources and services.

In 1984 a group of Rhode Island academic libraries founded the Higher Education Library Information Network (HELIN) for the purpose of providing access to information in all formats at decreased cost. HELIN is comprised of six academic libraries which share an online catalog of each library's holdings. The catalog can be accessed through the Internet via the World Wide Web. Since the HELIN system is Web-based, it offers access to electronic periodical databases and other online resources, such as electronic journals, encyclopedias, dictionaries and much more. This is one example of libraries joining together to offer the latest in Internet technology to their users.

7. CONCLUSION

User satisfaction in the Internet Age should be our greatest concern. As new technologies emerge, libraries should not merely react to them but plan for there use. Take the proactive approach. Successful libraries look at the Internet as an opportunity to redefine library service and the role this plays in creating greater user satisfaction.

Ferguson and Bunge (1997) explained the role of libraries in these words, "As libraries plan and implement service for the future, they will need to make sure that the use of information technology is put within the grasp of all their users, whether through the design of systems that are easy to use, the development of effective instructional programs, or the provision of personal assistance when and where needed."

REFERENCES

American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. (1992). 3rd. ed. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Co.

Carruth, Gordon and Eugene Ehrlich. (1992). American Quotations. New York: Wings Books, 1992.

Ferguson, Chris. (1994). "Reshaping academic library reference service: A review of issues, trends, and possibilities," Advances in Librarianship, 18: 73-109.

Ferguson, Chris and Charles A Bunge. (1997, May). "The shape of services to come: Values-based reference service for the largely digital library," College & Research Libraries, 58 (3): 252-265.

Gascoyne, Richard J. and Koray Ozcubukcu. (1997). Corporate Internet Planning Guide: Aligning Internet Strategy with Business Goals. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1997.

Leyden, Peter. (1997, Fall). "The Long Boom," Simmons Review, 79 (2): 15-17.

Mardikian, Jackie and Martin Kesselman. (1995, Spring). "Beyond the desk: Enhanced reference staffing for the electronic library," Reference Services Review, 23 (1): 27-28.

McCarthy, Cheryl A., Sylvia C. Krausse and Arthur A. Little. (1997, March). "Expectations and effectiveness using CD-ROMs: What do patrons want and how satisfied are they?" College & Research Libraries, 58 (5): 128-142.

Riggs, Donald E. (September, 1997). "Plan or be planned for: The growing significance of strategic planning," College & Research Libraries, 58 (5): 400-401.

Weingard, Darlene E. (1997). Customer Service Excellence. Chicago: American Library Association.