Organization of Materials                                                      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8


Collection Development Issues

• Does the product support the instructional and research needs of the University?
• Is there a demonstrated need for this product?
• Does product duplicate materials in other formats?
• Does product provide materials not otherwise available in the collection?
• Will materials be needed for more than ten years or semi-annual? At present, the stability of the disks is guaranteed for about eight years?
• Is cancellation of other formats a possibility?
• Is access improved?
• Does usage or condition of print source merit duplication in another format?
• Is updated frequency sufficient?
• Is the publisher reputable?
• Are similar products available from different vendors?
• Are subscription and maintenance costs reasonable when compared with the cost
  of comparable print or on-line sources?
• Please consider the cost of the database or text, access software, auxiliary software and hardware.

Search Engine and User Interface

Compare a complete citation from the CD-ROM product and a comparable print product or with another version of the same product by a different vendor.

• Do some sample searches meet publisher claims?
• Is the product readable?
• If the abbreviations are used, are they logical for the average user?
• Is the use of color, windows, and other artistic qualities appropriate and valuable?
• Are the screen layouts logical?
• Do the commands make sense?
• Are access points adequate?
• Is the number of indexed field adequate?
• Are the instructions and the help menu clear? Is the order of events in the search process logical?
• Are the numbers of keystrokes minimal?
• Are printing and downloading available and easy to perform?
• Will it be necessary to provide staff to assist patrons?
• Are screens, commands, and prompts easy to understand?
• Is the system user-friendly, i.e, can an inexperienced user sit at the terminal and begin a search from on screen aid?