The second objective of the catalog is to show which editions are in a library. Two interpretations of this statement are contrasted: that of Akos Domanovszky, which represents current standard practice, and an alternative, which calls for extensive analysis of serials and collections, and explicit identification of publications with identical…

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)

Describes surveys of catalogers, geo-science faculty, and graduate students that explored the provision and use of subject access through geologic or geographic names. Strategies for improving such access through cataloging techniques, user education, and the use of advanced technologies are discussed. (21 references) (CLB)

This is a preliminary report on an ongoing research project examining the "Current Index to Journals in Education" indexing of two major, general interest academic library journals: the "Journal of Academic Librarianship" (JAL) and "College and Research Libraries" (C&RL). The data are presented "as is,"…

Describes a study that compared subject index headings for theological terminology used by the Catholic Subject Headings and the Library of Congress Subject Headings. The discussion covers issues related to the possible conversion to Library of Congress cataloging by Catholic university libraries. (three references) (CLB)

Though recent technological developments have promised solutions to the costly problems of expanding card catalogs and changing cataloging practices, at the University of California libraries the problems have been compounded by a desire to stay compatible with the changing conventions of the Library of Congress and by an increasingly stringent…

This paper describes a computer-assisted printed index which provides expanded subject access to the more than 6000 titles in the Iowa State University Library reference collection. Designed to complement existing catalogs with a minimum of duplication of information, the index displays abbreviated length records. The limitations of subject access…

Examines users' categorization of documents related to a particular literary work. After finishing the sorting task, participants wrote descriptions of the attributes used to create each group. Content analysis of these descriptions revealed categories of attributes for grouping, many of which exist in bibliographic records and may be used to…

Authority records were compared for established headings that are identical in "Library of Congress Subject Headings" (LCSH, 18th edition) and "Moving-Image Materials: Genre Terms" (MIM). Both quantitatively and qualitatively, pairs of identical headings differ sufficiently from each other that the creation of authority records…

To study the format, content, and rationale of public catalogs used at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) libraries, a questionnaire was sent to each of the campus libraries. The data collected included information on: 1) number of volumes in the library's collection; 2) number of drawers in its catalog; 3) physical arrangement of…

Presents the results of a study undertaken to determine the bibliographic control requirements of a small- to medium-sized public library as these are expressed through library patrons' telephone and catalog reference. Data are presented in five tables, and a 17-item reference list is included. (Author/JL)

Describes a survey of reference librarians in libraries with online public access catalogs that was conducted to determine what types of searches patrons would use to look for names of fictional characters. Name, subject, and author indexes are discussed, and implications for cataloging using the MARC format are suggested. (10 references) (LRW)

This article studies the performance of online catalog user queries involving personal names and recommends system improvements based on the results. It examines various personal name queries, the construction of bibliographic data, and subject headings. Testing done on an experimental online catalog found search tree designs to reduce system…

Considering alternative physical formats for the public card catalogs currently used in the University of California at Los Angeles libraries, a study group at began by investigating six possibilities: 1) cards; 2) photographically-produced catalogs; 3) typeset-printed catalogs; 4) computer-produced catalogs; 5) microform or video catalogs; and 6)…

Examines how informetric characteristics of information retrieval (IR) system databases can be used to help system designers decide what type of file structures would provide the best performance. The development of appropriate models describing database contents is highlighted in this first part of a two-part study. (30 references) (LRW)