Purpose: The aim of this paper is to study the impact of internet search engine usage with special reference to OPAC searches in the Punjabi University Library, Patiala, Punjab (India). Design/methodology/approach: The primary data were collected from 352 users comprising faculty, research scholars and postgraduate students of the university. A…

This study examines what the public search for in the catalogue of the State Library of Victoria (SLV). As well as indicating the type of content being accessed, this gives an indication of what catalogue users expect of the State Library collection. A content analysis was undertaken of a random, stratified sample of 4,000 search queries typed in…

Academic libraries customize, support, and provide access to myriad information systems, each with complex graphical user interfaces. The number of possible information entry points on an academic library Web site is both daunting to the end-user and consistently challenging to library Web site designers. Faced with the challenges inherent in…

In 1981 and 1982, the Research Libraries Group (RLG) and four other organizations participated in a coordinated study of public online catalog users and nonusers. Standard, self-administered questionnaires were used to gather data from 8,094 users and 3,981 nonusers in 31 research, academic, community college, public, and governmental libraries…

In this research project, subject terms from the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) Schedules and Relative Index were incorporated into an online catalog as searcher's tools for subject access, browsing, and display. Four features of the DDC were employed to help searchers browse for and match their own subject terms with the online catalog's…

Reports the results of a study performed to determine preferred and effective usage of search keys utilized by OCLC users. The study used the research library facilities of Ohio State University to examine information retrieval behavior for acquisitions and cataloging information. (RAA)

Utilization of the card catalog in the main library (Sterling Memorial Library) of Yale University was studied over a period of more than a year. Traffic flow in the catalog was observed, and was used as the basis for scheduling interviews with a representative sample of catalog users at the moment of catalog use. More than 2000 interviews were…

This guide was developed to support Internet access to library catalogs at the University of Georgia (UGA). Since the UGA Libraries can only connect to the Internet using TELNET 3270 emulation, this guide is restricted to library systems which support that protocol. Section 1 of the guide presents the commands that are needed to gain access to the…

Outlines a database constructed at Philip Morris Research Center Library which encompasses holdings and circulation and acquisitions records for all items in the library. Host computer (DECSYSTEM-2060), software (BASIC), database design, search methodology, cataloging, and accessibility are noted; sample search, circ-in profile, end user profiles,…

Developed from presentations given at a 3-day invitational meeting of 31 leading online catalog designers from both public and private sectors in North America, these papers provide information about online catalogs--their present form, their use, and the questions that need to be considered in their future refinement. All of the papers in this…

In 1981 and 1982, a group of 5 organizations conducted a coordinated study of public online catalog users and nonusers in 31 research, academic, community college, public, and governmental libraries with 17 different online catalogs. It was found that: (1) the most important user characteristic linked with success and satisfaction in using online…

Discusses reasons why libraries are being forced to seek new forms of information storage. A hypothetical scenario of user-initiated document delivery alternatives integrated with a search process used by a professor using the Harvard OnLine Library Information System is presented. Extensive notes elaborate on the process and the technology…