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…

Presents a methodology for analyzing patterns of usage of a Web-based library catalog and evaluates the methodology with data collected from the transaction logs of the Web interface version of the University of California's Melvyl Systemwide Library Catalog. Results revealed major differences in usage (number of searches, search time, number of…

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…

Analyzes data from two empirical studies of spelling errors made in online catalog searches. One study used transaction logs to categorize errors, while another gauged student responses to an experimental catalog that detected errors. Recommendations for improving online catalogs to assist users in spelling are discussed. Contains 10 tables and 3…

Librarians at the University of Pacific (Stockton, California) designed a replication of an earlier transaction log study. Researchers found it difficult to compare the year-to-year data, primarily due to a continually changing technological environment. Findings did reveal a rise in student use of online periodical databases which subsequently…

Explores to what extent the germ theory, when it was still a relatively new idea, is evident in the bibliographic records in the "Index-Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon-General's Office of the United States Army" (Index Cat), the largest medical bibliographical tool ever published. Data suggest that scientists are quick to apply the new…

Online geographic information system (GIS) services are expanding rapidly as private organizations, government agencies, and libraries are developing Web sites that deliver GIS data, graphics, and metadata. Such services are divided into five categories: graphic snapshots, spatial database catalogs and libraries, map generators, map browsers, and…