The Search Needs of the First and Last Semester Students of the Faculty of Medical Management and Information and Sciences of the Isfahan University in 2006

Library users expect fast and direct access to the information they need and the variety of user's searching behavior have lead to new library services. Therefore, in order to provide the correct data to the library users, librarians should know the student's searching motives and aims, the type and nature of resources they search and methods and instruments they use to access the data. This study investigates the search needs of the students in the first and last semester of the faculty of management and medical information sciences in 2006. This is an analytical survey. The study population included 94 students (54 in the first semester and 40 in the last semester) of the faculty of management and medical information sciences of Isfahan in 3 undergraduate majors. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. The validity was approved by professors and professionals and a pilot study in the sample size which was equal to 88%. The reliability was checked by Alfa Cronbach. Data were analyzed by Excell software and quantitative statistics such as percentage and frequency were used. The findings showed that the searching needs of the students are different in various semesters of their study period and the main reason for not using the library resources correctly is lack of knowledge and education about it. It is recommended to educate the university students how to use the electronic resources for a faster and better access to data they need. Also, communication between professors and librarians can help development of electronic databases of the library as well as improvement of the student's literacy of the library usage.