GRATEFUL MED: a tool for studying searching behavior

Abstract

The latest release of GRATEFUL MED offers medical libraries an opportunity to monitor searching patterns of end users searching the databases of the National Library of Medicine (NLM). A GRATEFUL MED use log records information from each search session. Analysis of the log from a recent beta test program at the Welch Medical Library indicates that most NLM searches occur in the MEDLINE database. Moreover, the study reveals that searchers overlook many user-friendly features of the program. Evaluation of the use log suggests changes for future versions of the program.