Search results

The purpose of this paper is to show that the dependency on search portals as a gateway for internet navigation is increasing. This phenomenon is also occurring in the academic information resource market of Korea. As a result, it is necessary to positively review linking library services with search portals. In particular, a plan to link the services of university libraries (which are recognized as private facilities of universities) is needed, utilizing them actively as public facilities connected with the local community. In this context, this study discusses a model to link the Korean University Library OPAC with search portals.

Analyzes the present status of cases in foreign countries – already vigorously active – and raise several points. In consideration of analysis, sets basic directions about linking library OPAC to search portals. Proposes a detailed model to link search portals with University Library Union Catalogs and manifestation of Deeplink to local University Library OPAC in consideration of technical situation of Korean Library OPACs.

A major problem from established cases is that portal search engines cover all areas so retrieval results are generally vast. Users cannot easily find a path accessing library resources through search portals without special equipment.

This paper proposes models to link library catalogs through special sub domains or book services of portal sites using University Library Union Catalogs as a gateway. It also proposes three alternatives of Deeplink implementation to local OPACs.

The paper seeks to evaluate the effect of web searching on online public access catalogue (OPAC) users in the university libraries in India. It is a comparative study of the three universities in the Union Territory of Chandigarh and Punjab State.

The study adopted a questionnaire‐based survey. A structured questionnaire was administered to 500 users comprising faculty, research scholars, and postgraduate students of selected university libraries to collect data regarding the influence of web search engines on OPAC users.

The study showed that a majority of the users in all three universities made use of the web‐based resources. Ready access to information through search engines considerably increased the expectations of library users while searching OPAC. Web searching influenced their OPAC searching process greatly, as the majority of searches were performed on OPAC‐like popular search engines. Simultaneously, users did not know the difference between inner‐workings of OPAC and common search engines such as Google.

The paper provides useful information about how search engines influence OPAC users in India. The study recommends that OPACs need to include the modern features of present search engines to improve their practices. University libraries should communicate user expectations to OPAC designers. Further, the library community should collaborate with OPAC designers to develop a user‐friendly OPAC system, keeping in view the needs of the users of the internet age.

The purpose of the study is to determine the most preferred catalogue format – card catalogue or online public access catalogue (OPAC) for searching library material in Oriental languages, i.e. Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Punjabi, Hindi, Sanskrit, Sindhi and Pashto of the Central Library, University of the Punjab, Lahore. It also explores the users’ searching behaviour for finding the library material in Oriental languages.

A purposive sample of 100 respondents was chosen for this study. The questionnaire contained both close- and open-ended questions. SPSS (version 11.5) was used for quantitative analysis of data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for reaching conclusions. The qualitative data analysis software “X-Sight” was used for analysing the qualitative data.

The study highlights the importance of both types of catalogue. Many of the findings of the study related to the card catalogue and OPAC are surprising when compared to their general perceptions. It is important to note that the users perceived the card catalogue as more effective for searching the library material in Oriental languages. However, they also face many problems while using both types of catalogues.

It is the first study of its type in Pakistan that explored the users’ perceptions and behaviour of searching Oriental language material from the card catalogue and OPAC. The findings of the study are valuable for library management, not only at the Central Library of Punjab University but also for other libraries. These findings can help in making both card catalogue and OPAC more effective and user-centred. It will also assist them to improve weaknesses of both types of catalogues.

This study compares the users’ preferences for card catalogue and/or OPAC when searching Oriental language material. There are very few studies available on this subject and most of them are dated.

The aim of this paper is to discuss and analyze the efforts of Hong Kong Baptist University Library to create a virtual union catalog for dissertations and theses collections as a single search platform to retrieve the bibliographic records, abstracts and full‐texts of Hong Kong postgraduate students’ theses and dissertations from seven university library online public access catalogues (OPACs).

The paper examines the use of advanced keyword searching functionality in Innovative Interfaces’ Millennium system and Microsoft active server pages scripts to develop an original search engine to cross search the OPACs of Hong Kong university libraries.

Library searching is more than simply doing a Google search. Libraries do not need to depend on vendors of their library integration systems exclusively for enhancement in OPAC search functionality. Librarians can also take the initiative to maximize the searching capabilities and functionalities of their existing library integration systems, and design new search engines to facilitate patrons to use the OPACs more efficiently and effectively.

The paper discusses the creation of a unique platform, which is a free and valuable reference tool for scholars and researchers around the world to cross search the Hong Kong postgraduate students’ theses and dissertations. It also provides insights into how librarians can maximize the functionalities of library integration systems to enhance cross searching on OPACs.

This paper discusses the differences in search pattern transitions for mobile phone, tablet and desktop devices by mining the transaction log data of a library online public access catalogue (OPAC). We aimed to analyze the impacts of different devices on user search behavior and provide constructive suggestions for the development of library OPACs on different devices.

Based on transaction logs which are 9 GB in size and contain 16,140,509 records of a university library OPAC, statistics and clustering were used to analyze the differences in search pattern transitions on different devices in terms of two aspects: search field transition patterns and query reformulation patterns.

Search field transition patterns are influenced by the input function and user interfaces of different devices. As reformulation times increase, the differences between query reformulation patterns among different devices decrease.

Mobile-side libraries need to optimize user interfaces, for example by setting web page labels and improving input capabilities. Desk-side libraries can add more suggestive content on the interface.

Unlike previous studies, which have analyzed web search, this paper focuses on library OPAC search. The search function of mobile phones, tablets and desktops were found to be asymptotic, which was a good illustration of how devices have a large impact on user search behavior.

This chapter outlines how search engine technology can be used in online public access catalogs (OPACs) to help improve users’ experiences, to identify users’ intentions, and to indicate how it can be applied in the library context, along with how sophisticated ranking criteria can be applied to the online library catalog. A review of the literature and the current OPAC developments forms the basis of recommendations on how to improve OPACs. Findings were that the major shortcomings of current OPACs are that they are not sufficiently user-centered and that their results presentations lack sophistication. Furthermore, these shortcomings are not addressed in current 2.0 developments. It is argued that OPAC development should be made search-centered before additional features are applied. Although the recommendations on ranking functionality and the use of user intentions are only conceptual and not yet applied to a library catalogue, practitioners will find recommendations for developing better OPACs in this chapter. In short, readers will find a systematic view on how the search engines’ strengths can be applied to improving libraries’ online catalogs.

The study focused on online public access catalog (OPAC) users’ cross-device search behavior. The purpose of this paper is to understand the characteristics of cross-device OPAC searches, and to identify query reformulation (QR) patterns during device transitions.

The transaction log from a university library, spanning six months, was used to conduct the quantitative analysis. The query vocabulary richness, which refers to the average number of unique words each query contains in a search session, can evaluate query diversity, and contribute to the analysis of QR.

The results show that PC-PC transition is the most important pattern of device transition. The time interval of device transition was different to the time interval of transitions in web searches. Short device transitions mainly occurred in daytime, and the number of transitions that occurred in less than one minute was higher than on the web. Searches for Industry and Technology triggered the most device transitions, and the users tended to choose the same search field. In addition, the authors made a detailed analysis of the reasons for same-type device transitions and different-type device transitions. Furthermore, the authors focused on the characteristics of adjacent QR patterns. The authors not only refined the concept of cross-device to include the same-type device transition, but also summarized the characteristics of the cross-device QR patterns, which can be used to predict post-switch queries.

This study extends research into cross-device interaction and cross-device search to the domain of digital library research. The authors also introduced QR perspective on cross-device interaction on OPAC.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of user demographic characteristics on the impact of usage of search engines, particularly Google, with special regard to OPAC in the context of an Indian university setting.

This study is based on a survey where the tool of investigation was a close‐ended questionnaire that was distributed among respondents, was self‐filled and returned. The data, thus collected, were processed on MS‐Excel and subsequently on the SPSS statistical package which was used specifically for the analysis of results and also for producing cross‐tables. The Chi‐square test was applied to determine the comparability or the existence of any relationship between the impact of web searching on OPAC use and demographic characteristics of individual searchers.

The study found significant differences between OPAC usage patterns and demographic characteristics of user categories and age groups. Significant variations were noticed among user age groups for awareness about differences between the inner‐workings of the OPAC and web search engines. A significant relationship was found between male and female users vis‐à‐vis their viewpoint after unsuccessful searches. Certain variations were also observed among academic majors with regard to perceptions of users after failed searches. Interestingly, no significant differences were observed between actions of users after unsuccessful searches and the parameters pertaining to their age groups, categories, academic majors and gender.

This is in all probability one of the first empirical studies to be published on the influence of demographic characteristics of users on the impact of web searching with respect to OPAC use. These characteristics have been observed to definitively impact upon the influence of web searching in some limited activities.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of a 2006 survey of UK Higher Education OPACs in order to provide a snapshot of cataloguing practices for e‐books.

The OPACs of 30 UK HE libraries were examined in July/August 2006 to determine which e‐books were catalogued, and the level of cataloguing treatment e‐books received. Interviews were conducted by e‐mail with representatives of eight of these libraries.

A total of 28 universities surveyed provided some OPAC records for e‐books; most of these were for subscription collections from suppliers such as ebrary and netLibrary. Five universities included records in their OPACs for individual e‐book titles from collections such as Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO); four OPACs included records for free e‐books. There are wide variations between institutions in terms of which e‐books are selected for cataloguing.

The survey was undertaken at a particular point in time (summer 2006) and was not exhaustive of all UK HE OPACs.

This research suggests that it should be made easier for users to search OPACs for e‐books, and that libraries should provide more information on their websites about which e‐books are catalogued.

This paper addresses a gap in the UK literature on cataloguing e‐books.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight limits to the dominant model of social inclusion under which UK public libraries operate, to analyse how and to what extent processes of socio‐cultural exclusion emerge in the subject representation and discoverability of “non‐dominant” resources in public library OPACs, and to consider folksonomy as a solution to any issues raised.

The paper first develops a critique of the dominant model of “inclusion” within UK public libraries, drawing on feminist and critical theories of identity. It then considers how this critique overlaps with and offers fresh insights into major debates within subject indexing, and develops a theoretical rationale for considering the potential of folksonomy to intervene in more inclusive subject‐indexing design. A user‐based critical interpretive methodology which understands OPACs as texts open to multiple interpretations is developed, and a comparative reading of standard OPACs and LibraryThing folksonomy is undertaken to evaluate the discoverability and subject representation of LGBTQ and ethnic minority resources.

LibraryThing folksonomy offers benefits over LCSH subject indexing in the discoverability and representation of LGBTQ resources. However, the folksonomy is dominated by US taggers, and this impacts on the tagging of ethnic minority resources. Folksonomy, like traditional indexing, is found to contain its own biases in worldview and subject representation.

The importance of subject indexing in developing inclusive library services is highlighted and a new method for evaluating OPACs is developed.