BIBLIOGRAPHICAL COMMUTATION AT THE FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS MÉDICAS DA PARAÍBA´S LIBRARY: from needs to information use

Abstract

The libraries have a need of electronic services to provide more qualitative information in numerous areas of knowledge. Spreading them out has been the strategy to intensify the access/use of this information in the university libraries. The Bibliographical Commutation (COMUT), service that complements and extends the physical archive of these libraries has been under-utilized for users’ unfamiliarity or linguistic or technological barriers, or others that come to exist. Therefore, the aim is to analyze the use of the COMUT and the expectations of the users of the Library of the University of Medical Sciences of Paraíba, identifying profile, expectations and barriers of this service. A qualitative approach is being adopted, developing an exploratory field research. The subjects are the real and potential users of the service, collecting data from questionnaire. The results indicate the unfamiliarity of the COMUT. However, the ones who use this service confirm to have always found the information they seek, whose objective is to take care of to the necessary information for the elaboration of the Work of Course Conclusion and the search for scientific articles. Obstacles are found in regards to language, currently economic situation and time. The main expectation of the use of the COMUT is to locate the demanded information. One of the presented advantages is the diversity of scientific information. One concludes that it is necessary to plan a politic of marketing, in special of promotion, based on the study of carried through users, who divulges the COMUT as a service that makes use of pertinent information to the health, intensifying the search and the use of the COMUT in the library.