The research reported in this thesis is focused on some of the implications for Library and Information Science of the development of the Internet, and the World-Wide Web (WWW) in particular. It highlights the need for a wider involvement of this profession in the better management, organisation, and ultimately - usability, of the global information system. An extensive study of the information seeking process was carried out on a collection of interlinked hypertext documents constituting a PC-based model of the World-Wide Web. Special attention was paid to the correlation of WWW document authoring characteristics and the success rate in browsing sessions performed by novice, casual and experienced Internet end-users. The analysis of the results from a number of browsing sessions on the model led to some specific recommendations for comprehension-oriented WWW authoring. / Thesis (M.I.S.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.

The purpose of this study was to develop a consensus from a panel of experts composed of library deans/directors, reference librarians, and instructors with online teaching experience. The panel developed the methodology necessary for evaluating free sources of information on the Internet for inclusion in academic library holdings by the year 2010. The following areas were explored as they related to the forecast: 1) The changes in higher education institutions that will be necessary to prepare students to deal with free sources of information on the Internet; 2) The procedures that librarians need to develop and implement to ensure that free Internet materials will meet quality standards for inclusion in academic library holdings; and 3) The things that publishers of free sources of information on the Internet need to do to ensure that their materials will be considered for inclusion in academic library holdings. The Delphi panel was composed of 24 members: eight library deans/directors, eight reference librarians, and eight instructors with online teaching experience. The members of the panel were selected from the community colleges of the Tennessee Board of Regents System. In the first round of the study, panelists responded to 10 open-ended questions on an e-mail questionnaire dealing with free sources of information on the Internet. The narrative responses to the questions were specific and provided a basis on which to develop the Round 2 Questionnaire. In the second round of the Delphi study, panelists responded to 9 questions with 42 subparts. The results of this study may be used to project the information needs of students as well as suggest strategies for publishers on the basis of the data collected in this study. A major finding of the study was the need for reliable information in documents on the Internet. The Delphi panel also listed the lack of permanence of Internet sites as a major reason librarians do not use free sources of information on the Internet. The Delphi panel recommended that educators assist students in dealing with Internet materials by teaching them how to use critical thinking skills.