| This survey of professional librarians employed at research-oriented academic libraries in the United States examined the availability of CD-ROM work-stations, types of CD-ROM end-user instruction, and certain CD-ROM products and the instruction utilized for them. The utilization of the results of formal effectiveness testing of CD-ROM end-user instructional methods and the source of the effectiveness testing were also analyzed. The study also sought to determine the impact of certain perceived factors on the decision-making process concerning the availability of types of instruction, and the relationship of cost-of-living adjusted library expenditures per study on those decisions.;A high survey response rate of 87% was achieved. Widespread availability of CD-ROM technology was reported with at least 70% of institutions making available up to 15 multi-product, public-use work stations. The type of CD-ROM end-user instruction which had the greatest utilization was on-demand direct individual instruction provided by librarians, a type considered expensive to provide.;Less than 10% of institutions utilized any type of formal effectiveness testing. This finding, although not totally unexpected, was significant in that there was a lack of utilization of established research methods for assessing the outcome or the effectiveness of end-user instruction by the largest, more affluent, research-oriented institutions.;The results tended to indicate that the amount of library budget available per student did not drive decisions for making any or all types of CD-ROM instruction available. The factor which had the greatest overall perceived impact on decisions was high demand by end-users.;The primary implication for librarians and administrators is that during the time of increasing costs and strained library budgets, a method of assessing the effectiveness of high cost end-user instructional types should be seriously considered. Also, lower cost CD-ROM end-user instruction should be developed by individual libraries, even if end-user instruction development funds must be temporarily diverted from library staff budgets. Cooperation of vendors in development of lower cost instruction should also be sought. |
