User's groups - a source of information

Abstract

This paper looks at the ways one of the user's groups on campus provides information and sources of information to the campus community. It describes the activities and instruments the group uses to gather and disseminate this information to its members. It also discusses methods being used to increase user participation in the user's group.The user's group uses a variety of techniques to accomplish its goal of being a source of information to the campus community, including: a newsletter covering general information of interest to the campus community and software and hardware reviews by members of the user's group; hardware and software presentations by vendors and user group members during meetings; maintenance of a public domain software library at a central site for use by members; and the use of a database containing the software and hardware currently being used by individual members and their expertise with each product.