Social tagging enables librarians to partner with users to provide enhanced subject access. This paper quantifies and compares LC subject headings from each of 31 different subject divisions with user tags from Amazon.com and LibraryThing assigned to the same titles. The intersection and integration of these schemas is described and evaluated.…

This paper provides a theoretical critique of the deficiencies of full-text searching in academic library databases. Because full-text searching relies on matching words in a search query with words in online resources, it is an inefficient method of finding information in a database. This matching fails to retrieve synonyms, and it also retrieves…

Examines use of online access to bibliographic files in library reference service, focusing on two systems: OCLC and Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN). The development and current status of each system, differences between systems, search examples, user expectations, and advantages of online access are noted. Twenty references are…

This article analyzes the concept of the Invisible Web and its implication for academic librarianship. It offers a guide to tools that can be used to mine the Invisible Web and discusses the benefits of using the Invisible Web to promote interest in library services. In addition, the article includes an expanded definition, a literature review,…

Issues involved in integrating new methods of bibliographic and physical access with old ones to create a unified system of periodical article access and identification are identified. Desirable characteristics of a system, a possible model, and suggestions for further research are presented. (Author/JKP)

The authors adapted Web usability techniques to assess student awareness of their library's Web site. Students performed search tasks using a Web browser. Approaches were categorized according to a student's preference for, and success with, the library's Web resources. Forty-five percent of the students utilized the library's Web site as first…

Discusses some widely available spatially referenced datasets, including raster and vector datasets. Strategies for improving accessibility include: acquisition of data in a software-dependent format; reorganization of data into logical geographic units; acquisition of intelligent retrieval software; improving computer hardware; and intelligent…

How do you engage faculty in the task of developing student information literacy? This case study offers a model for incorporating information retrieval into a social science research project so that literacy becomes an intrinsic part of the course assignment. Students showed significant gains in database search and assessment skills with minimal…

Explores aspects of information retrieval complexity, specifically the demands on users and information systems, using a proposed query as an example. Discusses previous writings on subject access, search strategies and retrieval potential, and classification as a retrieval tool. An appendix shows the subject headings assigned to books in a…

This SPSS crosstab analysis of client response to the microfiche card catalog at the University of Oregon, which utilizes a "basic" or "frozen" catalog and supplements, considers such variables as microfiche use, academic status, and distance from the card catalog. (CWM)

An experiment investigated whether the format in which information is stored affects the outcomes of ready reference transactions in terms of efficiency and accuracy. Results indicate that bibliographic questions are more efficiently answered online, while factual questions are more efficiently answered with print sources. Results of the study are…

Examines advantages and disadvantages of the traditional model of undifferentiated service versus an alternative model of differentiated services, which includes directions and general information; technical assistance, "information lookup" for the client, research consultation, and library instruction. Suggests each service should fit…

Describes the background of the Linked Systems Project, which is designed to link existing bibliographic utilities into a national system of machine-readable bibliographic data and discusses directions being taken by the library community and why the OSI architecture was selected as the system protocol. (CLB)

Critical thinking exercises incorporated into an undergraduate course of bibliographic instruction encourage students to analyze and evaluate information and retrieval methods, thus enabling them to become more effective information users. (AEF)

It is no longer effective to provide information literacy instruction that is thought to be "good for" college students, but rather, instruction must focus on the learning styles and preferences of the target population. This case study reports a series of hands-on/minds-on information literacy activities that dissolve student's misconception that…