However, these systems rely on helper applications to view the documents. Since about half of the respondents indicated that they were only beginners at installing new programs on personal computers, who will help students with these problems is an issue that must be addressed if the library chooses to deliver reserve readings on the Web. To expect students to read and study electronic reserve materials on a computer terminal would be a mistake. Very few survey respondents at Carolina are willing to read reserve materials from a computer screen. Only seven of 194 respondents said they would pay more than that.
Students are willing to invest more time than money in electronic reserve systems.
One hundred thirty-two of the 195 respondents to this question said they were willing to spend the same amount of time to learn a new system as they had spent learning the old and 46 respondents were willing to spend more time than they spent learning to use the current system. Most students will limit their copying to no more than 20 pages per document. Therefore, electronic reserve is probably not the best way to deliver lengthy documents. How students learn about reserve readings often influences how they will search for those materials. These findings have important implications for electronic reserve system design.