Comparison

Traditionally user surveys are the only means of determining the effectiveness of a library to meet user needs. This method is time- consuming for the library staff and obtrusive to the user. Often low response rates pertain. An indirect approach is desirable.

The approach described in this paper offers an alternative which is simple and unobtrusive. In addition to providing information about the users' functional requirements, this technique is useful in evaluating the ease of use of the library, the effectiveness of the classification scheme, etc.

This technique should be extended to other software reuse libraries. Comparative analysis of different, heterogeneous libraries may provide ideas for improving the state of practice in software reuse libraries.