Applications of CD-ROM technology for reference purposes: A survey of reference librarians in libraries of four-year colleges and universities

Of 736 reference librarians at four-year colleges and universities in the United States surveyed about their use of CD-ROM databases for reference purposes, 633 (86%) responded. Almost half (308) are using CD-ROM technology and collectively they own 809 work-stations and use 961 CD-ROM databases. Most (70%/221) not using CD-ROM have plans to acquire it in the future. By 1990, 63% (399) expect to be using CD-ROM for reference purposes.;Student enrollment is the most reliable predictor of CD-ROM use in a surveyed library, although the number of reference librarians, respondent age and size of the reference budget also detected significant differences. About 25% (38) of the institutions with fewer than 1,000 students are using CD-ROM compared to 82% (37) with enrollments exceeding 15,000 students.;The popularity of CD-ROM causes many libraries to regulate its use by such measures as requiring appointments and limiting use by length of time or frequency. Measures such as limiting patron use of printers and a policy of encouraging downloading of data for post-processing outside the library are often encountered. Despite such cost-reduction measures, most (60%/141) believe the annual overhead cost per work-station exceeds ;Although 65% (200) of the libraries employ special security measures to protect the CD-ROM work-stations, fewer than 1% (2) believe they have serious security problems. Most (83%/520) respondents believe CD-ROM can be a cost-effective alternative to heavily used online databases. Over 80% (508) believe use of CD-ROM in a library has a positive effect on patron image of academic librarians. Significantly, 75% (238) of the librarians not now using CD-ROM share this belief. A majority of librarians (59%/182) using CD-ROM expect it will lessen future demands for printed reference sources.