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Pencil‐and‐paper surveys can provide useful information about user perceptions of service quality in libraries, but qualitative methods must be used to gain more precise understanding of problem areas. Texas A&M University Libraries conducted focus group studies in spring 2001 with graduate and undergraduate studies in order to gather specific information related to their satisfaction with and confidence in the assistance provided at library service points. The sessions revealed that users were generally pleased with the assistance provided them by professional staff at reference desks and that they found librarians to be usually patient and helpful. Elements of dissatisfaction identified by the sessions included a sense of inability or unwillingness to assist at some service points and a perceived lack of knowledge of the library, particularly by student workers and staff at locations away from reference areas. The data are being used to improve library directional tools and to improve staff training for public services staff.

Staffing costs account for 65 per cent of research libraries’ expenditures for interlibrary borrowing. Due to this cost and pressure to provide better access, library administrators are showing an increased interest in unmediated document delivery. In a pilot project at Texas A&M University, faculty and graduate students in the Agricultural Economics Department used ArticleFirst, PapersFirst, and EBSCOdoc as a substitute for traditional interlibrary loan. Participants could order materials not owned by the three university libraries. Four document suppliers, the British Library Document Supply Centre, EBSCOdoc, ISI’s Genuine Article and UMI were used. Users were allowed to select the vendor and method of delivery which included fax, mail, Ariel, and express mail. Data gathered included the usage patterns for the different delivery methods and document suppliers, the costs of items, problems encountered by users, and general information on user satisfaction.

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Due to the significant cost of interlibrary loan services and the pressure to provide better access to journal articles, a pilot project on unmediated document delivery was designed as an option for interlibrary loan requests at Texas A&M University (TAMU). Graduate students and faculty members of the Educational Psychology and Psychology Departments were given access, at no cost, to the electronic document delivery service of the Institute of Scientific Information’s (ISI) Web of Science®. Participants were asked to order only items not owned by the TAMU General Libraries. Data gathered included the item(s) ordered, the cost of each item, and the users’ experience level with electronic systems. Key factors examined were the patron’s inclination to check the catalogue, total and average costs, ease of use, willingness of patrons to use the system, and the problems incurred.