Uses and Users of Multimedia in Libraries: An Inquiry into the Médiathèque in Nancy

The introduction of multimedia into the library raises new questions concerning the public. Who is the user of this new service? How can the uses of this service be varied according to the characteristics of users? How can the reading and consultation practices of cd-rom users be articulated? An inquiry into the users of cd-roms in the Nancy «médiathèque» offers some responses to these questions. The choice of cd-roms and the way in which this service is used differs according to whether the public is active or not, and according to the nature of training followed. Far from being antagonistic, reading and consultation of cd-roms seem to be concurrent.
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