Reports on a comparative study of the postcoordinate retrieval effectiveness of Library of Congress Subject Headings and the Preserved Context Indexing System (PRECIS). Data are presented in six tables and one figure, and a reference list is included. (Author/JL)

Discusses characteristics of typical online public access catalogs (OPACs) and examines patron use via printouts of transaction logs for three separate systems. Desirable features of OPACs (mnemonic search commands, boolean operators, forgiveness or automatic truncation, browsing a subject heading index, suggestive prompts) and need for…

Presents findings of project aimed at improving subject access in online library catalogs by generating records with augmented subject descriptions, termed BOOKS records, and comparing them with MARC records. Procedures involved in the selection of subject descriptions to generate a BOOKS record are described and illustrated. Six references cited.…

Describes the University of California at Berkeley's participation in the TREC (Text Retrieval Conference) interactive track experiments. Highlights include results of searches on two systems, Cheshire II and ZPRISE; system design goals and implementation; precision and recall results; search questions by topic and system; and results of…

Describes various ways in which software systems for online catalogs can be designed to enhance subject access. Highlights include what to search (subject headings, titles, notes, authority-file records, classification numbers, and associated text); truncation and stemming; spelling correction; search strategies (headings, keywords, Boolean…

Description of classification schemes for fiction book retrieval covers traditional methods, universal systems, special systems, genre systems, and development of the AMP-classification system based on multidimensional analysis of users' requests (subject matter, setting, author's intention, accessibility). Trial applications and retrieval tests,…

The National Library of Medicine's Current Information Transfer in English public access online catalog offers unique subject search capabilities--natural-language query input, automatic medical subject headings display, closest match search strategy, ranked document output, dynamic end user feedback for search refinement. References, description…

Proposes an operational definition of relevance for a Web-based library catalog. Proposes measures that characterize user behavior while searching a Web-based library catalog. Develops a methodology to predict when a user's search will be perceived to be relevant by the user. Tests the methodology with over 900,000 user search sessions with the…

Discussion of precision in information retrieval highlights a prototype online catalog, ILSA (Improving Library Subject Access), developed at Indiana University of Pennsylvania that uses subject clusters and classification. Topics addressed include problems with keyword searching, controlled vocabulary, and thesauri; natural language mapping…

Describes an online library catalog in which bibliographic references have been compiled by simply transcribing the descriptive data found on the title page and elsewhere on the documents, and discusses the wider implications of the use of natural language descriptions without modifications. Eleven references are listed. (FM)

Describes the use of IBM's Storage and Information Retrieval System (STAIRS) in the development of an online catalog for the Business and Technical Library of the Cummins Engine Company. The functions, advantages, and disadvantages of the system are outlined. A reference list and three sample searches are attached. (JL)

Includes an evaluation of turnkey circulation systems used to support online catalogs (Richard Boss), results of a survey to determine user attitudes toward online catalogs (Kenneth Dowlin), a description of Ohio State University's library control system (Susan Miller), and a profile of a user-designed subject retrieval system (Kaske and Sanders).…

Discusses special problems that the symbols for sharps and flats in music notation present for the retrieval of music materials in online catalogs, and describes the results of a survey of vendors of online systems that was conducted to determine how vendors deal with this notation. (nine references) (LRW)

Discusses methods of browsing in online public access catalogs (OPACs) and describes one method that uses information pertaining to the physical description of books from MARC records to simulate images of books on a library shelf. Electronic browsing through MARC is discussed, and methods of enhancing OPACs are reviewed. (51 references) (LRW)

Study conducted at the University of Western Ontario explored whether use of keywords of an online catalog would be a satisfactory alternative to self cross referencing for locating variant subject heading forms. Random comparison of machine readable cataloging with Library of Congress authorities demonstrated the desirability of cross reference…