Search

Discovery tools are emerging in libraries. These tools offer library patrons the ability to concurrently search the library catalog and journal articles. While vendors rush to provide feature-rich interfaces and access to as much content as possible, librarians wonder about the usefulness of these tools to library patrons. To learn about both the utility and usability of EBSCO Discovery Service, James Madison University (JMU) conducted a usability test with eight students and two faculty members. The test consisted of nine tasks focused on common patron requests or related to the utility of specific discovery tool features. Software recorded participants' actions and time on task, human observers judged the success of each task, and a post-survey questionnaire gathered qualitative feedback and comments from the participants. Participants were successful at most tasks, but specific usability problems suggested some interface changes for both EBSCO Discovery Service and JMU's customizations of the tool. The study also raised several questions for libraries above and beyond any specific discovery-tool interface, including the scope and purpose of a discovery tool versus other library systems, working with the large result sets made possible by discovery tools, and navigation between the tool and other library services and resources. This article will be of interest to those who are investigating discovery tools, selecting products, integrating discovery tools into a library web presence, or performing evaluations of similar systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The informatics moment is the moment when a person seeks help in using some digital technology that is new to him or her. This article examines the informatics moment in people's everyday lives as they sought help at a branch public library. Four types of literacy were involved: basic literacy (reading and writing), computer literacy (use of a mouse, buying a computer), library literacy (navigating online catalogs and databases), and domain literacy (most commonly and urgently, looking for work in a world where practically all job postings and applications are online). Social capital is also associated with many of these informatics moments: people seek help from those with enough skill who are close at hand, approachable, and familiar, and they collaborate with others in their networks to do so. Understanding the informatics moment could accelerate people's (and society's) anxious transition to an inclusive digital age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to provide increased remote access to library materials have taken center stage over the last decade. Librarians can be justly proud of the results of their efforts to date, with most bibliographic indexing tools now available electronically and library catalogs accessible at all times via the Internet. Full-text materials are increasingly available on the Web and desktop delivery is more common than ever. Great progress in the cataloging of maps was also made during this time period and the use of maps concomitantly increased. Maps still lag behind other library resources, however, in the ability of the remote user to identify the needed item to the proper granularity. Unlike the remote user who, needing a journal article, can search any one of a number of bibliographic databases to identify articles down to the journal title, volume, issue, and page number, remote users who need a map have few electronic bibliographic tools to aid them. The inclusion of records for maps in online catalogs greatly increased during the last decade, so remote users have a good chance of determining that maps covering their geographic regions exist.

Analyzes the changes that automated online public access catalogs (OPAC) have represented to the structure, administration and maintenance of catalogs, retrieval systems and user interfaces. Examination of structure of database; Repercussion of applying rules and formats developed for manual systems to OPAC.

Presents the results of research on the feasibility of using scanner technology to capture contents pages of monographs, and to extract the bibliographic information of each work and process it with a standardized language, such as SGML, for tagging electronic documents. How data can be used or storied in an online catalog (OPAC); Background; Methodology; Development; Conclusions.

This study aims to look at search patterns in the OPAC and determine the reasons for failure rates. With this study, interface design problems icould be addressed and the users' search behavior could be analyzed. Transaction log analysis (TLA) was used to examine search queries extracted from the system. Transaction logs are interactions registered electronically between online systems of information retrieval and the persons who search for information contained in the system. For this study, logs refer to the author, title, call number, keyword (Boolean), and subject queries submitted to the library's OPAC. Errors were identified and coded to determine reasons of failure rates. Search patterns were also analyzed by examining the search strings submitted to the system. Simulated searching was also performed (as deemed necessary) to dig further into the reasons why some queries resulted to zero retrievals. For this study, the data used was limited to logs collected for a period of 35 days as this is the maximum extent of logs the system can keep/store. A total of 244,456 search logs submitted to the system. Results showed that users are oblivious of search limiters and that their manner of searching for items in the OPAC is the same as how they would usually conduct their searches using the Google search box; and presumably expect that the OPAC will return results similar to that of Google. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that developed an experimental online catalog that had traditional subject searching capabilities. Description of alphabetical searching; Catalogs that compose the experimental online catalog developed for the Dewey Decimal Classification Online Project; Failure analyses of problematic or unsuccessful alphabetical searches.

An increasing number of library user studies are employing ethnographic techniques as an alternative to more traditional qualitative methods such as surveys. Such techniques, however, are only beginning to see significant application to catalog user studies. Beginning with a discussion of the applied ethnographic method and its current usage within the field of Library and Information Science research, this article will assess methods that have traditionally been applied to studies of catalog users and present the case for the potential of an ethnographic approach for future catalog evaluation and design. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Content-enriched metadata in bibliographic records is considered helpful to library users in identifying and selecting library materials for their needs. The paper presents a study, using circulation data from a medium-sized academic library, of the effect of content-enriched records on library materials usage. The study also examines OPAC search transactions of circulated items to learn how enriched metadata is used. The findings show that enhanced records were overall associated with higher circulation rates and that keyword search was the most frequently used search option directly associated with circulation. Contents data can play a key role in discovery. Libraries should continue to provide and exploit content-enriched metadata. The combination of optimal library system data mining capability, postsearching evaluation, and OPAC display are crucial to achieve content-enriched access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although technology can often correct spelling errors, the complex tasks of information searching and retrieval in an online public access catalog (OPAC) are made more difficult by these errors in users' input and bibliographic records. This study examines the search behaviors of 38 university students, divided into groups with either easy-to-spell or difficult-to-spell search terms, who were asked to find items in the OPAC with these search terms. Search behaviors and strategy use in the OPAC and on the World Wide Web (WWW) were examined. In general, students used familiar Web resources to check their spelling or discover more about the assigned topic. Students with difficult-to-spell search terms checked spelling more often, changed search strategies to look for the general topic and had fewer successful searches. Students unable to find the correct spelling of a search term were unable to complete their search. Students tended to search the OPAC as they would search a search engine, with few search terms or complex search strategies. The results of this study have implications for spell checking, user-focused OPAC design, and cataloging. Students' search behaviors are discussed by expanding Thatcher's (2006) Information-Seeking Process and Tactics for the WWW model to include OPACs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the use of different query types for the BoW online bibliographical catalogue. Searching for this catalogue entails taking advantage of its structure and return matching topics from the hierarchy. Various statistical weighting factors are incorporated to show that the query types are best treated by different topic ranking functions. The mixed strategy that applies the most suitable ranking function to each query type is found to yield significant increase in precision relative to the baseline.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to show that knowledge of the Machine-Readable Cataloguing (MARC) format is useful in all aspects of librarianship, not just for cataloguing, and how MARC knowledge can address indexing limitations of the online catalogue. Design/methodology/approach - The paper employs examples and scenarios to show the usefulness of MARC knowledge among library professionals. Findings - The paper finds that library professionals with an understanding of MARC also have an advantage in understanding how Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) work. With a knowledge of MARC, librarians can understand OPAC indexing limitations and develop ways to work around those limitations. An understanding of MARC bibliographic data across library specialities allows librarians to work interdependently to affect the functionality of the OPAC. Originality/value - Editing/manipulating MARC data based on indexing limitations of the online catalogue can improve retrieval of library resources. Additionally, MARC knowledge and skills are transferable, even with the challenges of changing OPAC technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Google Print does not "change everything" regarding the need for professional cataloging and classification of books; its limitations make cataloging and classification even more important to researchers. Google's keyword search mechanism, backed by the display of results in `relevance ranked" order, is expressly designed and optimized for quick information-seeking rather than scholarship. Internet keyword searching does not provide scholars with the structured menus of research options, such as those in OPAC browse displays, which they need for overview perspectives on the book literature of their topics. Keyword searching fails to map the taxonomies that alert researchers to unanticipated aspects of their subjects. It fails to retrieve literature that uses keywords other than those the researcher can specify; it misses not only synonyms and variant phrases but also all relevant works in foreign languages. Searching by keywords is not the same as searching by conceptual categories. Google software especially fails to retrieve desired keywords in contexts segregated from the appearance of the same words in irrelevant contexts. As a consequence of the design limitations of the Google search interface, researchers cannot use Google to systematically recognize relevant books whose exact terminology they cannot specify in advance. In contrast, cataloging and classification do provide the recognition mechanisms that scholarship requires for systematic literature retrieval in book collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of the Internet and online technology to enable library users to access library catalog information without using an actual cataloging system. In particular, the article focuses on efforts made by the Bibliothek des Wissenschaftsparks Albert Einstein in conjunction with the Kooperativen Bibliotheksverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (KOBV) in order to improve searching and accessibility to information through open source technology in Germany.

Visualisation is an important intellectual activity, similarly to information and data processing, abstraction, memory and learning. Visualisation is also a particularly important technique used in information retrieval. Although perception greatly depends on the individual user's knowledge and excperience, the system of signs and symbols applied also plays a major role in designing information retrieval tools. Users find it easy to combine information and images. Pictures, graphics, toolbars, icons, buttons, diagrams provide support not only in understanding the structure and operation of the information retrieval language, but also in evaluating the results. Information retrieval systems providing the above tools greatly facilitate the access to information. The study also gives an overview of the possibilities of visually displaying the Universal Decimal Classification system in Hungarian online catalogues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of development and recent focus on digital curation and ties it to larger cyber infrastructure initiatives. Design/methodology/approach - Provides a useful viewpoint on the development and recent focus on digital curation. Findings - Digital curation is the active involvement of information professionals in the management, including the preservation, of digital data for future use. While there have been people doing different aspects of data curation and digital preservation for decades, recent events have brought a number of ideas, organizations, and individuals together to focus more intently on digital curation. Reports in the US by the National Science Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies and in the UK by Dr Liz Lyon of UKOLN have pointed out the aspects of digital curation which need to be in place to ensure that digital objects can be maintained, preserved, and remain available for future use. These reports along with increased research focus at conferences and the emergence of new educational programs have led to the emergence of digital curation and made digital curators a new entry into the information professions. Increasingly, digital curation is becoming an umbrella concept that includes digital preservation, data curation, electronic records management, and digital asset management. Practical implications - This article discusses and defines digital curation and notes how this theme has permeated in recent reports, conferences, and educational offerings. Originality/value - The article synthesizes current digital curation efforts and helps to define this new concept for information professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typographical errors can block access to records in on-line catalogs; but, when a word contains a typo and is also spelled correctly elsewhere in the same record, access may not be blocked. To quantify the effect of typographical errors in records on information retrieval, we conducted a study to measure the proportion of records that contain a typographical error but that do not also contain a correct spelling of the same word. This article presents the experimental design, results of the study, and a statistical analysis of the results. We find that the average proportion of records that are blocked by the presence of a typo (that is, records in which a correct spelling of the word does not also occur) ranges from 35% to 99%, depending upon the frequency of the word being searched and the likelihood of the word being misspelled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about developments in German library technology for online public access catalog (OPAC) use. OPAC display software with abbreviated titles was originally discussed during a library and information science conference in Vienna, Austria in 2002. Descriptions are given of the program's various developmental stages in the following years. Remaining software goals are noted, such as the linking of titles to displays of full texts, abstracts, and tables of contents.

This paper examines the forty-year history of online use of classification systems. Enhancing subject access was the rationale for obtaining support to conduct research in classification online and for incorporating classification into online systems. Catalogers have been the beneficiaries of most of the advances in classification online and operational online systems are now able to assist them in class number assignment and shelf-listing. To this day, the only way in which most end users experience classification online is through their online catalog's shelf-list browsing capability. The author speculates on the reasons why classification online never caught on as an end user's tool in online systems. Both the information industry and the library and information science community missed the opportunity to lead the charge in the organization of Internet resources; however, OCLC, the publisher of the Dewey Decimal Classification, has made substantial improvements to the scheme that have increased its versatility for organizing Internet resources. Because mass digitization projects such as Google Print will solve the problem of subject access, the author makes recommendations for classification online to solve these vexing problems of end users: staging of access, retrieving the best material in response to user queries, and automatic approaches to finding additional relevant information for an ongoing search. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - the purpose of our study was to find out whether searching for defined information through WebPAC was more efficient and effective than searching directly in alternative databases. Design/Methodology/Approach - 30 participants (Lingnan University students) were observed searching the Web-OPAC and 3 other selected databases (NetLibrary, Naxos Music Library & Naxos Spoken Word Library). Participants' different searching behaviours, efficiency, and effectiveness were also observed, measured and recorded. Before and after the searching exercises, a Pre-Search Questionnaire and a Post-Search Questionnaire were used to ask targeted questions for enquiring their searching experiences. Findings - the findings suggested that searching under WebPAC was more efficient and effective. The findings also suggested that the average Lingnan Library users were more familiar with the use of the traditional WebPAC. Research limitations - some limitations include a small sampling size, and all the participants were given only 3 minutes for retrieving 1 title. Originality/Value - this study attempted to evaluate the searching interfaces of the WebPAC and three commercial databases by quantitative measurement. It also looked into end-users' searching preferences and difficulties in searching when using these interfaces. It is instructive for practicing reference and cataloguing librarians, as well as for the OPAC and search interface designers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A collection of culinary and related materials at the William L. Clements Library has potential uses beyond the niche of culinary history, expanding into and beyond the emerging interdiscipline of food studies. The library is considering other holdings for related content. Such collections are inadequately served by existing subject access. Experiments with plentiful subject access are being tried, including an unusual use of MARC records for ephemera, a database recording mentions of food-related phenomena in Civil War correspondence, and experimentation with a controlled vocabulary. These experiments have drawn on a "community of interest," including subject specialists and volunteer docents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1980, most of the functions of the card catalog have been gradually incorporated into the online catalog. In contrast, the traditional shelflist has fallen into obscurity as retrospective conversion projects have been completed. Most of the functions of the traditional shelflist have been incorporated into the online catalog: nevertheless, the online catalog still does not provide all the functions that the traditional shelflist used to perform. This paper introduces how Washington State University Libraries set up an online history file to incorporate some of the functions of the traditional shelflist into their online catalog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined Library of Congress Classification (LCC)-based class numbers assigned to a representative sample of 200 titles in 52 American library systems to determine the level of consistency within and across those systems. The results showed that under the condition that a library system has a title, the probability of that title having the same LCC-based class number across library systems is greater than 85 percent. An examination of 121 titles displaying variations in class numbers among library systems showed certain titles (for example, multi-foci titles, titles in series, bibliographies, and fiction) lend themselves to alternate class numbers. Others were assigned variant numbers either due to latitude in the schedules or for reasons that cannot be pinpointed. With increasing dependence on copy cataloging, the size of such variations may continue to decrease. As the preferred class number with its alternates represents a title more fully than just the preferred class number, this paper argues for continued use of alternates by library systems and for finding a method to link alternate class numbers to preferred class numbers for enriched subject access through local and union catalogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the character set usage control in NACSIS-CAT cataloging system, a shared cataloging system used by the Council of East Asian Libraries. The NACSIS-CAT is a shared cataloging system, similar to the Online Computer Library Catalog and Research Library Information Network cataloging systems, operated by the National Institute of Informatics Japan. It is developed by the Center for Bibliographic Information at the University of Tokyo to provide information resources for research activities. The NACSIS-CAT has a mechanism of character set usage control that limits the usage of certain characters in the character set and unify then with other characters in the set.

The libraries of the Catalan Polytechnic University (UPC) have a collection of cartographic documents made up mainly of navigation charts as well as numerous land maps. It has been noted that the OPAC search and retrieval on this latter group is complex and confusing. In order to resolve this problem, a digital cartographic gateway was developed. Its main function is as an image (or sensitive) map of Catalonia that permits retrieving the maps by county. The application, developed using Flash, Asp.Net and Dhtml, runs on a database taken directly from the UPC Libraries' Catalogue. The principle features of this application are the minimal maintenance required as well as the ease of updating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Launched in March 2005, The European Library is in its Beta test phase. It is uncertain how well the 'portal in the browser' solution will work, and the only way it can truly be tested is to release it to the world and solve any issues that arise. www.TheEuropeanLibrary.org is the operational result of a three-year European Union funded project to create a co-operative framework and specify a system for integrated access to the major collections of the European national libraries. Beginning in June 2004, work was undertaken to turn the project and the experimental technology into a full-fledged, robust service. The European Library currently gives free access to digital and non-digital records and items from nine European national libraries. These numbered around 11,000,000 at launch, of which half a million were digitised objects. This paper will cover the technological innovation, cooperation and business development required to launch and run this collaborative pan-European service. It also looks at the marketing and communications plan and addresses some of the known issues and challenges. Some examples of how research and discovery may directly benefit from this collaboration are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Popular for their ability to provide full-text linking, OpenURL link servers, such as SFX, can also interface with online catalogs and interlibrary loan modules, giving library users the ability to locate articles in print or request items not owned by their local institution. This article examines four different approaches to integrating print holding information into SFX, detailing the advantages and drawbacks of each approach. The ultimate goal is to provide end-users with comprehensive, dynamic access to the full range of core library services, including online full-text, print materials, and interlibrary loan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this project it is shown that under certain conditions the checking for duplicates while loading bibliographic data into an online catalog can be replaced by a statistical estimation. Due to the selected significance level (of 90%) and tolerance bounds (10%) the minimum of the needed sample size is calculated, chosen from the population at random and verified by hand. The result of this examination is regarded in further consequence as a valid result for the total quantity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article identifies a common problem in many academic libraries: users having difficulties finding library items. It suggests that a mapping system may help solve the problem if the difficulties stem from users who do not understand floor structures of the library or classification of the collections. The technology of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is proposed to build the system because of its ability to analyze spatial data of collection locations and dynamically present the analytical results in maps of varied detail. Such a GIS item-locating system could he integrated into current online catalog systems so that users would have search results in both textual display and visual demonstration. The article advocates that libraries take advantage of GIS for its inexpensive development and simple implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: SourceOECD, the online/print subscription service of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, is examined. Solutions for providing access in library online catalogs are described, as are recent technical improvements to the online subscription service. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the commercial services available tot providing authority control in online catalogs. It identifies common reasons cited by libraries for outsourcing authority control and examines in-depth the types of authority control services. These include retrospective cleanup of the authority and bibliographic files, ongoing authority control work for newly cataloged bibliographic records and previously cataloged records where headings have changed, and periodic file reauthorizations when there was a one-time retrospective authority control database cleanup, but the library did not contract ongoing authority control services. The three phases of the outsourced authority control process are discussed, including preprocessing, machine matching, and manual record review. Finally, reports produced by the vendors are mentioned and challenges for automated international authority control are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic journals are being added to library collections at exponential rates. Kathryn Paul and Elena Romaniuk shared their experiences with the audience on how to provide electronic journal access to the users of their libraries. The workshop included a brief introduction of the University of Victoria and its libraries, the context of the project, its rationale, and a detailed explanation of the methodologies with emphases on planning, policies, processes, and systems. They then examined the challenges they faced and will still be facing. They concluded that their users loved the easy access to the electronic journals. An online demonstration was given at the end of the presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The MACS (Multilingual access to subjects) project is one of the many projects that are currently exploring solutions to multilingual subject access to online catalogs. Its strategy is to develop a Web-based link and search interface through which equivalents between three Subject Heading Languages-SWD/RSWK (Schlagwortnormdatei/Regeln für den Schlagwortkatalog) for German, RAMEAU (Répertoire d'Autorité-Matière Encyclopédique et Alphabétique Unifié) for French, and LCSH (Library of Congress Subject Headings) for English-can be created and maintained, and by which users can access online databases in the language of their choice. Factors that have led to this approach will be examined and the MACS linking strategy will be explained. The trend to using mapping or linking strategies between different controlled vocabularies to create multilingual access challenges the traditional view of the multilingual thesaurus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a study that explored ways in which users' subject-searching problems in a local online catalog might be reduced. On a weekly basis, the author of this article reviewed catalog transaction logs to identify topics of subject searches retrieving no records for which appropriate information resources may actually be represented in the catalog. For topics thus identified, the author explored two potential ameliorations of the no-hits search results through the use of authority record cross-references and pathfinder records providing brief instructions on search refinement. This paper describes the study findings, discusses possible concerns regarding the amelioration methods used, outlines additional steps needed to determine whether the potential ameliorations make a difference to users' searching experiences, and suggests related areas for further research.

The article presents the results of a field work carried out in 2003 to verify the tools of subject retrieval offered by public libraries in the city of Buenos Aires. It describes the vocabulary and the classification system used and also the possibilities of subject access by open stacks with a physical arrangement of the collection by subject, and online public access catalogs. It concludes with some recommendations to improve the efficiency of subject searching in public libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1993, Stevens Institute Library has successfully demonstrated that an academic institution can function well by acquiring only those materials when needed "just-in-time" instead of having materials on the shelf "just-in-case" they were needed. Users are seeking key and useful targeted concise information and no longer have the time to digest artificially long texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovations in scholarly communication have resulted in changing roles for authors, publishers, and libraries. Traditional roles are disappearing and players are actively seeking or reluctantly assuming new roles. Library roles are changing as they become involved in building and indexing electronic(e-) repositories and supporting new modes of e-research. A library-run service, the SPIRES particle physics databases, has not only weathered, but also led, many of the transitions that have shaped the landscape of e-publishing and e-research. This has been possible through an intense and in-depth partnership with its user community. The strategies used and lessons learned can help other libraries craft cost-effective roles in this new environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the development of PROCAT, a public record office online catalog system. Functions of the system; Processes of the enhancement procedure; Implementation of the system enhancements; Categories of the user feedback; Use of deep accesses data to provide detailed information about the users.

In September 2001 the Union Catalogue of the Valencian Public Reading Network began to function. This article describes the entire management process that oversaw development and implementation of this online catalogue. The issue analysed included the initial proposal, IT systems requirements, merging of the catalogues, unifying library criteria and policies, new possibilities enabled by the co-operative endeavour, and improvements to user services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]